The frequency of corneal dystrophies requiring keratoplasty in Europe and the U.S.A.

A clinical and pathologic review of 1,335 corneal buttons received from 1964 to 1985 revealed 185 (13.9%) corneal dystrophies treated with keratoplasty. Fuch's endothelial dystrophy accounted for 132 (9.9%), occurring in females 80% of the time. Corneal dystrophies other than Fuchs' accounted for 53 cases (4.0%). Among the latter, the frequencies varied; 38% were granular, 30% were macular, and 19% were lattice dystrophies. The overall prevalence in series from Los Angeles and Baltimore is the same. However, there is a striking difference in the distribution of the frequencies of non-Fuchs' dystrophies. In the Erlangen series, granular dystrophy dominates (38%), while it is rare in the Baltimore series (4%); the reverse is true for lattice dystrophy (Erlangen 19%; Baltimore 37%), while macular dystrophy rates are similar.