The success of lamellar transplantations has reduced the need for penetrating keratoplasty (PK), however there is still a significant number of full thickness PK being performed in “high-risk” situations. Despite all efforts made, the incidence of graft rejection after PK varies between 5 % and 40 % and is even worse in “high-risk” cases such as trauma, neovascularization and regrafts. This low success rate has been attributed to conditions such as active afferent and efferent immune response, pre-sensitized host and severe ocular surface alterations. Therefore, innovative treatment protocols are urgently needed to improve the prognosis of high-risk corneal transplants.
This symposium will shed light on recent developments to improve graft survival in high-risk indications. The application of drugs, biologics, cell therapeutic approaches and the latest on artificial cornea transplantation will be discussed.

• Organisation / Vorsitz / Chair: Uwe Pleyer (Berlin)
• Vorsitz / Chair: Thomas Ritter (Galway, IRL)