Abstract
Purpose :
To report the results of simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET) for limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) at an ophthalmological institution in Mexico City.
Methods :
Five patients (5 eyes) with LSCD due to chemical injuries (3 eyes), thermal injury (1 eye) and failure of tectonic sclerokeratoplasty after corneal melting of tectonic patch graft secondary to rheumatoid arthritis perforation (1 eye). All patients had unilateral involvement and received an autologous graft of limbal stem cells from the contralateral healthy eye, technique described by Sangwan. Preoperative best-corrected visual acuity, postoperative best-corrected visual acuity, previous surgeries, side effects on the donor eye, time from injury to surgery, recurrence and postoperative complications were evaluated. Paired t test was used for statistical analysis.
Results :
Preoperative mean best-corrected visual acuity was 1.55LogMAR (1 to 2.3LogMAR). The mean follow-up was 10.2 months (6 to 14 months), with postoperative mean best-corrected visual acuity of 0.33LogMAR (0.17 to 0.47LogMAR). The ocular surface was improved in all patients, however focal recurrence with superficial corneal vascularization was observed on the affected eye. The donor eye did not have complications.
Conclusions :
The result of our study suggests that SLET is a safe and effective treatment option for the management of unilateral LSCD, improving the ocular surface for future corneal procedures.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.