Repair of corneal ulcer or perforation using the corneal stromal lenticule

Abstract

AIM: To describe the outcomes of corneal stromal lenticules in repairing of corneal ulcer and/or perforation. METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review of 6 eyes of 6 patients from January to June 2017,who underwent corneal ulcer repair with the corneal, stromal lenticules harvested from femtosecond laser refractive surgery and kept in pure glycerin for use. Three cases of infectious corneal ulcers were bacterial, fungal, and infection with foreign bodies in corneal deep layer, one each. The other 3 were corneal ulcer perforation. Making sure no air bubble between donor graft and Descemet membrane. The mean follow-up time was 3.71±1.56mo(range 1-6mo). RESULTS: All eyes were successfully treated under control of infection without intra-operative complications, and early postoperative evaluation showed a clear graft in all cases. The last follow-up visit showed the mean best corrected visual acuity(VA)significantly improved after surgery. There was significant difference from 0.48±0.12 to 1.50±0.08(PCONCLUSION: The preliminary results suggest that the use of corneal stromal lenticules may be a safe and effective surgical alternative for corneal ulcer, even though the long-term outcome of the graft needs to be further observed.

Keywords

• corneal infection
• corneal ulcer
• corneal perforation
• corneal stromal lenticules
• keratoplasty
• keratoplasty