Keratoepithelioplasty

Keratoepithelioplasty is a new surgical procedure for the treatment of persistent epithelial defects in patients without healthy donor tissue in their fellow eyes. After a total superficial keratectomy, lenticules of donor cornea covered by epithelium are placed at the corneoscleral limbus. The epithelium spreads from the lenticules and covers the center of the cornea. In three of four patients with persistent defects of long duration, healing was successful and vision improved. The three successful procedures were in patients who had had chemical injuries. They retained useful visual function without recurrence of epithelial healing problems. In the fourth case, it was impossible to determine whether the procedure was useful because the patient, who had atopic keratoconjunctivitis, required a penetrating keratoplasty two months after the keratoepithelioplasty.