TY - JOUR T1 - Impediments to eye transplantation: ocular viability following optic-nerve transection or enucleation JF - British Journal of Ophthalmology JO - Br J Ophthalmol SP - 1134 LP - 1140 DO - 10.1136/bjo.2008.155267 VL - 93 IS - 9 AU - D Ellenberg AU - J Shi AU - S Jain AU - J-H Chang AU - H Ripps AU - S Brady AU - E R Melhem AU - F Lakkis AU - A Adamis AU - D-F Chen AU - R Ellis-Behnke AU - R S Langer AU - S M Strittmatter AU - D T Azar Y1 - 2009/09/01 UR - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/93/9/1134.abstract N2 - Maintenance of ocular viability is one of the major impediments to successful whole-eye transplantation. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the current literature to help guide future studies in order to overcome this hurdle. A systematic multistage review of published literature was performed. Three specific questions were addressed: (1) Is recovery of visual function following eye transplantation greater in cold-blooded vertebrates when compared with mammals? (2) Is outer retina function following enucleation and reperfusion improved compared with enucleation alone? (3) Following optic-nerve transection, is there a correlation between retinal ganglion cell (RGC) survival and either time after transection or proximity of the transection to the globe? In a majority of the studies performed in the literature, recovery of visual function can occur after whole-eye transplantation in cold-blooded vertebrates. Following enucleation (and reperfusion), outer retinal function is maintained from 4 to 9 h. RGC survival following optic-nerve transection is inversely related to both the time since transection and the proximity of transection to the globe. Lastly, neurotrophins can increase RGC survival following optic-nerve transection. This review of the literature suggests that the use of a donor eye is feasible for whole-eye transplantation. ER -