The 3-year outcomes of corneal tattooing for severely disfigured corneas.

Background: To evaluate the efficacy of corneal tattooing for various clinical applications.

Methods: The medical charts of 62 eyes of 62 patients who underwent corneal tattooing between March 2016 and August 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. The causes of opacity and various methods of corneal tattooing were analyzed.

Results: Among our 62 patients, 38 were males and 24 were females. Average age was 48.47 ± 15.30 (range, 12-74) years old. The mean follow-up period was 40.19 ± 2.34 (range, 36-43) months. The most common causes of corneal opacity were ocular trauma (33 eyes, 53.2%), prior retinal surgery (9 eyes, 14.5%), congenital etiologies (8 eyes, 12.9%) and measles (5 eyes, 8.0%). The most common associated ocular findings were strabismus (23 eyes, 37.0%), phthisis bulbi (17 eyes, 27.4%) and band keratopathy (13 eyes, 20.9%). Cosmetic outcomes improved without serious complications in all cases.

Conclusions: Corneal tattooing is a viable option with an expanding set of indications, such as discolored previous corneal tattoos, white pupil due to inoperable cataract with clear cornea and dense corneal opacities in blind eyes. Elective corneal tattooing seems to be a viable and convenient method to improve cosmesis with minimal complications and high patient satisfaction.