Comparison of follow-up data among groups of different donor sites
| Lower lip | Upper lip | Buccal mucosa | P value | |
| Number of eyes | 12 | 5 | 1 | |
| 3 months follow-up | ||||
| Schirmer test | 4 (1–6) mm | 5 (2.5–6.5) mm | 2 mm | 0.654 |
| FL | 10 (10–12) | 10 (7–11) | 8 | 0.158 |
| TBUT | 0 (0–0) s | 0 (0–0) s | 0 s | 0.779 |
| BCVA | 0.1 (0.01–0.4) | 0.05 (0.02–0.6) | 0.08 | 0.955 |
| Long-term follow-up* | ||||
| Schirmer test | 3 (1–5) mm | 7 (2.5–7.5) mm | 2 mm | 0.406 |
| FL | 10 (8–12) | 8 (8–11) | 8 | 0.641 |
| TBUT | 0 (0–0) s | 0 (0–0) s | 0 s | 1 |
| BCVA | 0.1 (0.01–0.4) | 0.05 (0.03–0.6) | 0.05 | 0.915 |
| Relief of DED symptoms | 54.5%† | 80% | 0 | 0.296 |
Continuous variables were shown as median (IQR).
*One eye of the lower lip group was lost to follow-up after 3 months.
†Only the right eye was included in the patient undergoing bilateral surgeries.
BCVA, best-corrected visual acuity; DED, dry eye disease; FL, corneal fluorescein staining score; TBUT, the value of break-up time of tear-film.