DMEK Best Practices – Real life (t)issues

NIIOS | AER is organizing a series of online DMEK Best Practices sessions starting fall 2024. These sessions are not only for corneal surgeons but also for OR assistants, eye bank staff, optometrists, and other professionals involved in the field. Whether you’re in the OR, working in the consultation room, managing logistics, or preparing donor tissue, every role is crucial to the success of the transplantation. The synergy among these roles ensures that patients receive the best possible (and timely) care.

What can you expect? We will share practical knowledge, tips, and tricks to elevate the DMEK technique to the highest possible level. These sessions are freely accessible and will be tailored to current developments and experiences in the field. We collaborate with colleagues who share their experiences and insights, allowing you to benefit directly from what works in practice. Relevant insights from each session, depending on the session, will be shared on our website in the form of visual and/or audio material.

The next DMEK Best Practices session is scheduled for the beginning of 2025 
T.B.A. 

The topic of the last session was:

“How to Tame a Tight DMEK Roll?”

This session was led by Julia Nijenhuis, tissue handler, corneal surgeon Gergely Losonczy and Eitan Livny, head of cornea unit. Young donor tissue and the resulting tight DMEK rolls can pose challenges during both surgery and preparation. Earlier this year, Gergely published a technique to turn a tight DMEK roll into a double roll, reducing manipulation time in the eye. This technique is also applied in the eye bank. Julia and Gergely are jointly researching the effective handling of young donor tissue for DMEK and will share their experiences during this session. Eitan has published articles on handling tight DMEK rolls from a different point of view, and shared his research on this topic.