Tissue engineering holds great promise for corneal transplantation to treat blinding diseases. This study was to explore the use of natural corneal stroma as an optimal substrate to construct a native like corneal equivalent. Human corneal epithelium was cultivated from donor limbal explants on corneal stromal discs prepared by FDA approved Horizon Epikeratome system. The morphology, phenotype,...

BACKGROUND Keratoplasty is the most effective treatment for corneal blindness, but suboptimal medical conditions and lack of qualified medical personnel and donated cornea often prevent the performance of corneal transplantation in developing countries. Our study aims to develop alternative treatment regimens for congenital corneal diseases of genetic mutation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS ...

PURPOSE Macrophages have been shown to play a critical role in the wound healing process. In the present study, the role of macrophages in wound healing after autologous corneal transplantation was investigated by depleting local infiltrated macrophages. METHODS Autologous corneal transplantation model was used to induce wound repair in Balb/c mice. Macrophages were depleted by sub-conjunctiv...

PURPOSE To study, with the use of an animal model, the efficacy of amniotic membrane (AM) transplantation as adjunctive treatment in corneal healing after bacterial keratitis. METHODS Staphylococcus aureus keratitis was induced in 47 rats by injection of bacteria into the corneal stroma. Treatment was started 48 hours later with one of three randomly assigned protocols: cefazolin drops (50 mg...

AIMS The aims of this study were to examine the influence of advanced recipient and donor age on the long term outcome of corneal transplantation. METHODS Records of 1036 penetrating corneal grafts in recipients aged > or = 80 years at surgery (defined as the elderly subset) and 8092 donor corneas used for transplantation were obtained from the Australian Corneal Graft Register database, Kapl...

PURPOSE Keratoconus is characterized by corneal ectasia and irregular astigmatism, which can lead to diminished vision and corneal scarring. Approximately 10-20% of patients with keratoconus eventually require a corneal transplant. Corneal cross-linking (CXL) is a relatively new treatment that may help prevent the need for corneal transplantation. Here, we investigated whether the introduction ...

Penetrating keratoplasty is one of the most common tissue grafts and organ transplantations. The aim of our study was to report our experience in corneal transplantation. A prospective study of 195 patients who underwent corneal transplantation over the period from August 2009 to August 2015. Mean follow-up was 21 months. The indications for transplantation were keratoconus 33,8%, trauma-relate...

lamellar keratoplasty (lk) has been a well established technique of corneal transplantation. recent improvements in surgical instruments have revolutionized the procedure introducing a new technique employing deeper corneal dissection. this review article describes the indications, techniques, outcomes and complications of deep anterior lk.

OBJECTIVE To describe the use of a single donor corneal tissue in 3 patients with corneal pathologic conditions. METHODS A donor corneal tissue was divided into 3 parts using a microkeratome and a trephine. The anterior lamellar disc was transplanted into a patient with macular corneal dystrophy using the automated lamellar therapeutic keratoplasty technique. The posterior lamellar disc was t...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of very late antigen 1 (VLA-1) (also known as integrin receptor alpha(1)beta(1)) in corneal transplantation inflammation and allograft survival. METHODS Cell infiltration and vasculogenesis (both angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis) associated with allodisparate corneal transplantation were assessed in VLA-1-deficient conditions and controls by immunofluoresce...