OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical outcome of a new sutureless approach for a temporary amniotic membrane patch (ProKera; Bio-Tissue, Inc, Miami, Florida) in eyes with acute burns. METHODS Retrospective review of 5 eyes of 5 patients with grades I to III acute alkaline burns, receiving ProKera insertion within 8 days of injury. RESULTS These eyes had either total (2 cases) or extensive (60%...

PURPOSE To discuss the importance of ocular surface management in corneal transplantation, especially in limbal transplantation. METHODS Since the corneal epithelium is not completely recovered after corneal transplantation, meticulous attention should be paid to the ocular surface to prevent infection and rejection, which are the major causes of corneal transplantation failure. Preoperative ...

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...

The cornea is the outermost tissue of the eye and it must be transparent for the maintenance of good visual function. The superficial epithelium of the cornea, which is renewed continuously by corneal stem cells, plays a critical role in the permanence of this transparency. These stem cells are localized at the cornea-conjunctival transition zone, referred to as the limbus. When this zone is af...

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,...

PURPOSE To evaluate the usefulness of epithelial corneal sheets mounted on platelet poor plasma (PPP) for allograft transplantation of rabbits with total limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) and to prove its efficacy at 1 year after surgery. METHODS LSCD was induced in 21 female rabbits by mechanical keratectomy. To configure the grafts, limbal biopsies were taken from male rabbits and cells we...

PURPOSE To determine the long-term outcomes of living-related stem cell transplantation in patients with delayed or chronic mustard gas keratopathy (MGK). MATERIALS AND METHODS In this noncomparative interventional case series, 21 consecutive patients with advanced delayed or chronic MGK received living-related conjunctival-limbal allograft and were followed up for at least 1 year. All subjec...

PURPOSES To describe corneal changes seen on in vivo confocal microscopy in patients with total limbal stem cell deficiency and to correlate them with cytological findings. METHODS A prospective case series including 13 eyes (8 patients) with total limbal deficiency was carried out. Stem cell deficiency was diagnosed clinically and by corneal impression cytology. Confocal images of the centra...

PURPOSE Because of its unique characteristics, the cornea has been widely used for blood and lymphatic vessel research. However, whether limbal or corneal vessels are evenly distributed under normal or inflamed conditions has never been studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate this question and to examine whether and how the distribution patterns change during corneal inflammatory ...

background: correlations between bone marrow, heart, kidney, liver, skin and lung transplant rejection or survival with human cytokine gene polymorphisms have been described. there are also reports about the role of cytokines and tumor necrosis factors-alpha (tnf-α) on corneal transplant in animal models. further studies are needed to clarify the role of cytokines in corneal allograft rejection...