Effects of pterygium surgery on front and back corneal astigmatism.

Objective: To evaluate changes in front and back corneal astigmatism after pterygium surgery using the Scheimpflug imaging of Pentacam.

Design: Prospective interventional case series.

Participants: We studied 96 eyes with primary pterygium that underwent surgery.

A combined approach of amniotic membrane and oral mucosa transplantation for fornix reconstruction in severe symblepharon.

Purpose: To evaluate the results of a combined approach of cicatrix lysis, intraoperative mitomycin C (MMC) application, oral mucosal transplantation (OMT), and amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) for surgery of severe symblepharon.

Methods: This prospective study included 32 eyes with severe symblepharon in which after cicatrix lysis the residual conjunctiva was not enough to cover the tarsus (grade III symblepharon) or there was no residual conjunctiva (grade IV symblepharon). After symblepharon lysis and MMC application, OMT was used to cover the tarsus throughout to fornix, and AMT with fibrin glue was performed to cover the exposed sclera.

A controlled study of amniotic membrane transplantation for acute Pseudomonas keratitis.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) to improve the outcomes of acute Pseudomonas keratitis as compared with a control group.

Design: Prospective interventional case series with retrospective controls.

Participants: We studied 14 eyes with Pseudomonas keratitis as the AMT group and 11 eyes with Pseudomonas keratitis as the control group.

Correlation between ocular Demodex infestation and serum immunoreactivity to Bacillus proteins in patients with Facial rosacea.

Purpose: To investigate correlation between ocular Demodex infestation and serum.

Design: A prospective study to correlate clinical findings with laboratory data.

Participants: We consecutively enrolled 59 patients: 34 men and 25 women with a mean age of 60.

Minimal conjunctival limbal autograft for total limbal stem cell deficiency.

Purpose: To report the results of one 60 degrees conjunctival limbal autograft (CLAU) combined with amniotic membrane (AM) transplantation for an eye with total limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).

Methods: One eye of a patient with chronic total LSCD and symblepharon caused by chemical burn was subjected to symblepharon lysis, removal of pannus from corneal surface, AM transplantation to cover the conjunctival and corneal surfaces as a permanent graft, one 60 degrees CLAU to the superior limbal area, and insertion of ProKera as a temporary AM patch to cover the CLAU.

Results: After surgery, corneal epithelialization over the AM was evident adjacent to the CLAU on day 6, progressed to pass the horizontal midline by day 11, and was completed by day 18.

Surgical strategies for fornix reconstruction based on symblepharon severity.

Purpose: To identify surgical strategies of fornix reconstruction for symblepharon graded according to the length from the limbus to the lid margin, to the width, and to associated inflammation.

Design: Retrospective, comparative, interventional case series.

Methods: In 61 eyes with symblepharon, cicatrix lysis and amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) were performed with sutures (n = 34) or fibrin glue (n = 27) together with (n = 47) or without (n = 14) intraoperative mitomycin C (MMC), plus fornix reconstruction using anchoring sutures without (n = 30) or with (n = 7) oral mucosal graft or with conjunctival autograft (n = 4).

Sutureless amniotic membrane transplantation for partial limbal stem cell deficiency.

Purpose: To evaluate the results of sutureless amniotic membrane (AM) transplantation using fibrin glue for reconstructing corneal surfaces with partial limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).

Design: Retrospective noncomparative interventional case series.

Methods: Eleven eyes of nine patients that had LSCD with 120 degrees to almost 360 degrees of limbal involvement underwent superficial keratectomy to remove the conjunctivalized pannus followed by AM transplantation using fibrin glue.

Role of conjunctival inflammation in surgical outcome after amniotic membrane transplantation with or without fibrin glue for pterygium.

Purpose: To determine the clinical significance of postoperative conjunctival inflammation noted at the third or fourth week after intraoperative application of mitomycin C and amniotic membrane transplantation for pterygium.

Methods: This retrospective study included 27 eyes of 23 patients with primary (n = 12) or recurrent (n = 15) pterygia. All cases were operated by extensive removal of subconjunctival fibrovascular tissue and intraoperative application of 0.

Corneal manifestations of ocular demodex infestation.

Purpose: To report the corneal manifestations in eyes with Demodex infestation of the eyelids.

Design: Noncomparative, interventional case series.

Methods: This retrospective review included six patients with Demodex blepharitis who also exhibited corneal abnormalities, which led to suspicion of limbal stem cell deficiency in three cases.

High prevalence of Demodex in eyelashes with cylindrical dandruff.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of Demodex in eyelashes with cylindrical dandruff (CD).

Methods: A modified sampling and counting method was applied to 55 clinical cases. Patients were divided in to group A (n = 20) with diffuse CD, group B (n = 12) with sporadic CD, and group C (n = 23) with clean lashes or greasy scales, of which the latter was divided into subgroup C1 (n = 15) without lid hygiene and subgroup C2 (n = 8) using daily lid hygiene for the past year.

Characterization of corneal pannus removed from patients with total limbal stem cell deficiency.

Purpose: To determine the epithelial lineage of origin in corneal pannus tissue surgically removed from patients with total limbal stem cell (SC) deficiency.

Methods: The lineage of origin of the entire conjunctivalized pannus removed from eight corneas with a diagnosis of total limbal SC deficiency was characterized by anti-keratin (K)-3 and anti-K19 monoclonal antibodies. The protein and mRNA of epithelial outgrowth from segments of five such pannus specimens were analyzed by Western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, respectively.

Human keratocytes cultured on amniotic membrane stroma preserve morphology and express keratocan.

Purpose: To develop a new method of expanding human corneal keratocytes in serum while maintaining their characteristic morphology and keratocan expression.

Methods: Human keratocytes were isolated from central corneal buttons by digestion in 1 mg/mL of collagenase A in DMEM and seeded on plastic or the stromal matrix of human amniotic membrane (AM) in DMEM with different concentrations of FBS. On confluence, cells on AM were continuously subcultured for six passages on AM or plastic.