Purpose:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of patients with refractory neurotrophic keratopathy (NK) in stages 2 and 3 treated with topical insulin.Methods:Retrospective analysis of eyes with NK in stages 2 and 3 refractory to standard medical and/or surgical treatment which were treated with topical insulin (1 unit per mL). This treatment was applied 4 times per day and was continued until the persistent epithelial defect (PED) or ulcer resolved. The primary outcome of the study was the complete reepithelialization of the PED or persistent ulcer. “Best-corrected visual acuity” pretreatment and posttreatment, “days until complete reepithelialization” data, and anterior segment photographs were obtained. Outcome measures were compared before and after treatment in both groups using paired and independent samples t tests.Results:Twenty-one eyes were included in this study, and 90% achieved complete reepithelialization of the PED and/or persistent ulcer within 7 to 45 days of follow-up. The mean number of days until complete reepithelialization was significantly lower in NK stage 2 (18 ± 9 days) when compared with NK stage 3 (29 ± 11 days) (P = 0.025). The best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly in both NK stage 2 (P < 0.001) and NK stage 3 (P = 0.004). No side effects were reported during the follow-up.Conclusions:Our results suggest that topical insulin drops may be an effective therapeutic in refractory NK. This therapy may prove extremely useful because of its low cost and high accessibility.
Purpose
To describe a modified deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) technique to rescue failed penetrating keratoplasty (PK) grafts and report its results.
Patients and Methods
Retrospective, case-series analysis of patients who underwent modified DALK to rescue failed corneal grafts after PK was included. Every patient had corneal graft failure (GF) diagnosis due to anterior corneal (epithelium, Bowman’s, and stroma layers) or refraction disorders uncorrectable with conservative management. The main objective of the surgery and primary outcome of the study was the improvement of corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA). The study’s secondary outcome was the frequency of intra- and postoperative complications.
Results
This series included four eyes from three patients with a mean age of 57.7 years (range: 51–63 years). Mean follow-up of patients was thirteen months (range: 12–15 months). During follow-up, continuous improvement of corneal transparency and CDVA was observed in every patient. The only intraoperative complication reported was a peripheric DM microperforations of previous graft–host junction in two eyes. No signs of double anterior chamber, endothelial failure, GF, glaucoma, or other side effects were reported.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that modified DALK in patients with GF after PK, preserving a healthy endothelium, is surgically feasible. However, further studies are needed to compare this procedure to PK and other DALK technique variations.
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