Abstract
Purpose :
To determine the outcome of amniotic membrane transplantation with bandage contact lens (AMT+BCL) for the treatment of persistent epithelial defects.
Methods :
Study population: Ten patients with persistent epithelial defect (PED) were prospectively recruited. Inclusion criteria: Patients older than 18 years, with previous failure of conventional treatment during at least two weeks.
Intervention: Patients underwent a modified AMT+BCL. On slit lamp, epithelial defect vertical and horizontal diameters were measured in millimeters. Amniotic membrane (AM) was placed over the bandage contact lens (BCL), AM was oriented according to the location of the epithelial defect and was left on the ocular surface for a week. Previous topical treatment was continued, except for gels that were suspended in all cases.
Main Outcome measure: Epithelial healing.
Results :
Ten eyes of ten patients were included. Etiologies of DEP were as follows: Five patients had neurotrophic keratitis, 3 were secondary to stem cell deficiency, 1 was secondary to graft versus host disease, and 1 DEP after pterygium surgery.
Successful epithelialization was achieved in all eyes, mean epithelialization time was 7 days.
Conclusions :
Amniotic membrane transplantation has been considered an effective alternative for treating PED. This study demonstrates a novel and effective sutureless technique using amniotic membrane transplantation combined with a bandage contact lens for the treatment of persistent epithelial defects.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.