A 3-year-old child sustained severe ocular surface burns in her left eye after accidental lime injury. Despite appropriate management in the acute stage, she developed limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) in that eye. This was initially treated with autologous ex vivo cultivated limbal epithelial transplantation (CLET), which unfortunately failed after 6 months resulting in recurrence of LSCD. One year following CLET, she underwent simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET) using autologous donor tissue from the healthy fellow eye. Successful restoration of the ocular surface following SLET combined with amblyopia therapy led to significant cosmetic and functional improvement. One year following SLET her vision in the left eye was 20/80 and she continues to maintain a stable, avascular and completely epithelised corneal surface. This case illustrates that SLET is effective in treating LSCD even in cases that are conventionally considered to be at high risk for failure of limbal stem cell transplantation.
A 4-year-old boy developed unilateral, total limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) following an acid injury. A stable ocular surface was achieved with autologous simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET), performed 4 months after the injury. Focal areas of conjunctivalisation were noted in the postoperative period. These were addressed using a novel modification of SLET. A very small piece of limbus from the healthy eye was split into multiple pieces, and applied to the bare corneal stroma with fibrin glue after pannus resection. The surface was covered with amniotic membrane. This resulted in a stable surface, and visual acuity improved to 20/50. The donor remained healthy despite two biopsies being harvested. This case demonstrates that early ocular surface reconstruction may be considered in children with LSCD if amblyopia is a concern. Customised SLET allows surgeons to tackle focal recurrences of LSCD effectively, using minimal limbal tissue from the donor site.
Conjunctival resection and cyanoacrylate glue application are not effective in avoiding recurrences and halting the disease progression in cases of Mooren's ulcer. Systemic immunosuppression remains the mainstay of therapy.
A 20-year-old man from Bangladesh suffered accidental alkali injury to his right eye in May 2010 leading to total limbal stem cell deficiency. An amniotic membrane graft was performed 5 days after the accident and the patient presented to our institute 6 months later. On ocular examination, his best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/50 with a 360° pannus at the periphery and central area was spared but had stromal scarring. He underwent simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET) taking a limbal biopsy from his left eye and was prescribed steroid and antibiotic eye drops postoperatively as per the standard regimen. At 2 year follow-up, the patient's ocular surface is stable with improvement in BCVA to 20/25 post-SLET.
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