To investigate the incidence, mechanisms, characteristics, and visual outcomes of traumatic wound dehiscence following keratoplasty.

Medical records of 32 consecutive patients with traumatic globe rupture following keratoplasty who had been treated at our center from 2001 to 2009 were retrospectively reviewed.

32 eyes of 32 patients(25 male&7 female) with mean ageof 38.1(8 to 87years)and history of corneal transplantation and eye trauma leading to globe rupture were enrolled.Median Interval between keratoplasty and traumatic event was 9 months (30 days-20 years). Complications included iris prolapse(71.9%),lens extrusion(34.4%),hyphema (40.6%),vitreous prolapse (56%), vitreous hemorrhage (28%) and retinal detachment(18%).Eyes which had undergone deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (15.6%) had better final visual acuity.There was no correlation between final visual outcomes and interval time of keratoplasty to the traumatic event.

The host-graft interface demonstrates decreased stability long after surgery and the visual prognosis of traumatic wound dehiscence is poor in many cases. An intact Descemet’s membrane in DALK may mitigate the severity of ocular injuries, but even in these cases, the visual outcome of globe rupture is not good and prevention of ocular trauma should be emphasized to all patients undergoing any kind of keratoplasty.