Amniotic membrane transplantation for partial and total limbal stem cell deficiency secondary to chemical burn

Purpose: To evaluate the surgical outcome of preserved amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) for ocular surface reconstruction in chemical burn with limbal stem cell deficiency. Design: Prospective, noncomparative, interventional case series. Participants: Twenty eyes of 20 consecutive patients with limbal stem cell deficiency secondary to ocular chemical injury. Intervention: AMT with or without adjunctive limbal transplantation using limbal tissue from either the healthy contralateral eye (CLAU) or a living related donor (Ir-CLAL). Main Outcome Measures: Reconstruction of corneal epithelium (clear appearance without epithelial defect, normal fluorescein permeability and the absence of conjunctiva-derived goblet cells on impression cytology), decrease in corneal vascularization and improvement in visual acuity. Results: With a mean follow-up time of 19 months (range, 8-27 months), satisfactory ocular surface reconstruction was obtained in 15 eyes (75%), with reduced inflammation and vascularization of the ocular surface and a mean epithelialization time of 3.3 weeks. Success was observed in all cases of partial limbal stem cell deficiency (PLD) and in 68.75% (11 eyes) of cases of total limbal stem cell deficiency (TLD). Surgical failure was observed in five severe cases (31.25%). A significant visual improvement was observed in all cases after surgery, except for 2 eyes that maintained preoperative visual acuity. Conclusions: AMT seems to bean efficient adjunct for ocular surface reconstruction in chemical burns with PLD. When performed in conjunction with limbal stem cell transplantation, it is also effective in most cases of TLD. (C) 2003 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.