Comparison of central corneal endothelial cell numbers with peripheral areas.

Using a specific fixation device on a group of patients, we compared corneal endothelial cell count areas above, below, and temporally with the central corneal cell counts. Although younger patients, the central cornea mirrored the peripheral cell counts; peripheral counts were similar in each group. Patients with intraocular lenses had fewer cells than patients with uneventful cataract extraction, and the central cornea was representative in the cataract group. Only in the intraocular lens group was there a small difference between central endothelial cell counts and the temporal and inferior cell counts; but even this difference was significantly less than that seen in patients with intracapsular cataract extraction.