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KeratoconusFLAKNCT00802776

Femtosecond Laser Assisted Keratoplasty

A study testing Femtosecond laser assisted keratoplasty and PKP in people with Keratoconus, run by University of Michigan at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) is corneal transplantation performed by using round trephine blades to create matched circumferential incisions in both the diseased cornea and the donor cornea. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 60 years
Conditions the study is for
Keratoconus
What is being tested?
Femtosecond laser assisted keratoplasty and PKP
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
24 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Oct 2007to Jan 2016
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 60 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Corneal opacification.
  • Reduced ETDRS-measured, best corrected, distance visual acuity to 20/40 or worse.
  • Ability to participate in follow-up visits.
  • Signed, informed consent.

Who cannot join

  • Corneal opacification adequately dense to obscure visualization of iris.
  • ETDRS-measured, best-corrected, distance visual acuity of 20/30 or better.
  • Corneal thickness greater than 1200 µm at the 9 mm peripheral zone.
  • Severe corneal thinning including descemetocoele with impending corneal rupture.
  • Prior PKP or incisional surgery that may provide a potential space into which the gas produced by the procedure can escape.
  • Poor visual potential in the non-study eye (VA of 20/100 or less, without potential for improvement by the examining ophthalmologist's judgment).
Show all 11Show fewer
  • History of glaucoma, including steroid response rise in intraocular pressure.
  • Active intraocular inflammation or infection.
  • Age 18 or younger.
  • Unable to return for scheduled follow-up examinations.
  • Other medical condition(s) that will likely prevent long term follow-up.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Cornea Clinic, Kellogg Eye Center

    Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48105

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Comparison of Femtosecond Laser-Assisted and Traditional Keratoplasty for Keratoconus

Penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) is corneal transplantation performed by using round trephine blades to create matched circumferential incisions in both the diseased cornea and the donor cornea. The donor tissue graft is then secured in place with sutures which are usually removed postoperatively.The primary surgical goals are the preservation of a clear graft and improvement of vision. Surgical outcomes are limited by donor-recipient junction mismatch, astigmatism, rejection, infection and wound dehiscence.

The femtosecond laser is a focusable, infrared laser capable of cutting tissue at various depths and in a range of patterns, and is currently being used to create corneal lamellar flaps in LASIK surgery. The laser parameters can be adjusted for submicron precision in cutting desired diameters, depths and shapes in the cornea, with minimal collateral injury. This technology is now capable of creating full-thickness corneal trephinations with customized locking edges at the graft-host junction between the donor and recipient corneas in Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Keratoplasty (FLAK). This approach may allow for better wound junction of the donor and recipient corneas, which in turn may also significantly reduce astigmatism, improve wound healing and visual recovery.

Read more

This pilot study will help us determine optimal femtosecond laser spot size, separation, fluence, and energy which result in the best graft-host fit.

The specific aim is to investigate postoperative physiology and biomechanics after FLAK in human eyes.

Read the detailed description

Penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) or full-thickness corneal transplantation is a common and highly successful method to restore vision decreased by corneal opacification. Surgery is performed by using round trephine blades to create matched circumferential incisions in both the diseased cornea and the donor cornea. Several types of blades are currently available to create uniform corneal cuts. The donor tissue graft is then secured in place with sutures which are usually removed postoperatively after one to two years. The primary surgical goals are the preservation of a clear graft and improvement of vision. Surgical outcomes are limited by donor-recipient junction mismatch, astigmatism, rejection, infection and wound dehiscence.

The femtosecond laser is a focusable, infrared laser capable of cutting tissue at various depths and in a range of patterns, and is currently being used to create corneal lamellar flaps in LASIK surgery. The laser parameters can be adjusted for submicron precision in cutting desired diameters, depths and shapes in the cornea, with minimal collateral injury. This technology is now capable of creating full-thickness corneal trephinations with customized locking edges at the graft-host junction between the donor and recipient corneas in Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Keratoplasty (FLAK). This approach may allow for better wound junction of the donor and recipient corneas, which in turn may also significantly reduce astigmatism, improve wound healing and visual recovery.

Although the femtosecond laser has been approved by the FDA for use in corneal transplants, it has not been compared to standard corneal transplant techniques. This pilot study will help us determine optimal femtosecond laser spot size, separation, fluency, and energy which result in the best graft-host fit. Surgical eligibility criteria, including preoperative diagnoses, as well as possible associated medical and ophthalmic conditions for the eventual multi-center study will be defined. Primary outcome measures, which include corneal refractive power measurements, serial endothelial-cell counts to assess endothelial survival and vision-specific quality of life surveys, will be evaluated. The specific aim is to investigate postoperative physiology and biomechanics after FLAK in human eyes. The significance is that FLAK presents corneal surgeons with an opportunity to avoid some problems of PKP and offers a safer and more precise approach to treating visually disabling diseases secondary to corneal opacification.

Conditions
Keratoconus
Being tested
Femtosecond laser assisted keratoplasty, PKP
Medical subject headings
Keratoconus

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Femtosecond laser assisted keratoplastyProcedure or surgery

  • PKPProcedure or surgery

Study groups in NCT00802776
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
FLAKActive comparatorFemtosecond laser assisted keratoplasty
Receives: Procedure: Femtosecond laser assisted keratoplasty
PKPActive comparatorPenetrating Keratoplasty
Receives: Procedure: PKP

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Investigate postoperative physiology and biomechanics after Femtosecond Laser Assisted Keratoplasty in human eyes.

    Measured: Preoperatively and 1day, 1week and 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months post operatively

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted5 Dec 2008 (estimated)
  2. Study startOct 2007
  3. Primary completionDec 2010
  4. Study completionJan 2016

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomised
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
24 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00802776
Sponsor's protocol ID
HUM 15615-FLAK
Acronym
FLAK
Status last verified
Mar 2017
First submitted
4 Dec 2008
Last updated
15 Mar 2017
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Femtosecond laser assisted keratoplasty and PKP in people with Keratoconus, run by University of Michigan at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 11 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Mar 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Investigate postoperative physiology and biomechanics after Femtosecond Laser Assisted Keratoplasty in human eyes. (time frame: Preoperatively and 1day, 1week and 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months post operatively). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Mar 2017.

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