Abstract:
The Australian Corneal Graft Registry (ACGR) opened in May 1985 and thus has now been in operation for over 26 years. However, the census dates for this report was 01/06/2010 for penetrating grafts and 12/10/2011 for lamellar grafts. Over the years, we have collected data on more than 23,000 corneal grafts. The majority of corneal grafts registered have been penetrating, but increasing numbers of lamellar grafts have also been registered over recent years, as patterns of surgical practice change. At registration, we seek information on the recipient, the donor, the eye bank practices and the operative procedure. Follow-up then occurs at approximately yearly intervals for an indefinite period, and ceases upon loss of the graft, or the death or loss-to-follow-up of the patient. At each round of follow-up, we request information on the graft and visual outcome, and upon relevant post-operative events and treatments. The data are entered into an Access database and checked for consistency. Descriptive, univariate and multivariate analyses are subsequently performed using SPSS and Stata software, and the report is eventually collated.
