[Focus on an anatomoclinical entity: Biber-Haab-Dimmer lattice dystrophy].

The present study tries to point out new ideas about lattice corneal dystrophy. From our own observations we distinguish five clinical stages corresponding to each decade of life. We discuss the pathogenesis of the disease and the new histochemical and microscopical methods, and we emphasize on surgical treatment. In fact, surgery must be performed late in life and penetrating keratoplasty has become the treatment of choice. However, some authors describe recurrence of clinical signs of the dystrophy in penetrating grafts. In our study of thirty patients (between 1974 and 1984) including histopathologic evidences (66 procedures including 40 penetrating and 26 lamellar keratoplasties), did not find any single case of recurrence after penetrating keratoplasty.