Amniotic Membrane Transplantation for Persistent Epithelial Defects With Ulceration

doi:10.1016/S0002-9394(14)70125-4

American Journal of Ophthalmology

Volume 123, Issue 3, March 1997, Pages 303-312

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Purpose

To determine whether preserved human amniotic membrane can be used as an alternative substrate for treating persistent corneal epithelial defects with sterile ulceration.

Methods

Amniotic membrane transplantation was performed in 11 eyes of 11 consecutive patients with corneal ulcers of different causes that had persisted for a mean ± SD of 17.5 ± 13.9 weeks.

Results

Ten patients healed in 3.9 ± 2.3 weeks (P < .01) without recurrence for 9.0 ±5.9 months. One patient failed to heal because of preexisting corneal perforation pursuant to severe rheumatoid arthritis.

Conclusion

Amniotic membrane transplantation may be considered an alternative method for treating persistent epithelial defects and sterile ulceration that are refractory to conventional treatment and before considering treatment by conjunctival flaps or tarsorrhaphy.

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Presented in part at the Second Annual Meeting of the Ocular Surface and Tear Workshop, April 1996, Miami, Florida. Supported in part by Public Health Service Research Grant EY 10900 from Department of Health and Human Services, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, and in part by an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc, New York, New York.

Reprint requests to Scheffer C. G. Tseng, MD, PhD, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, William L. McKnight Vision Research Center, 1638 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33136; fax: (305) 326-6306; e-mail: [email protected]