Surgical rehabilitation following ocular chemical injury.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the management of limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) secondary to chemical ocular burns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The charts of 48 eyes of 40 patients with grade 2 or higher chemical injury were evaluated retrospectively. Subjects with follow-up longer than 1 year were included. Medical treatment, surgical correction of abnormalities of ocular adnexial structures, limbal stem cell transplantation from patient's fellow eye, from living relatives or from cadaveric donor, amniotic membrane transplantation, conjunctival epitheliectomy, chelation with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and penetrating keratoplasty were the treatment modalities. Outcome measures were ocular surface stability and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA). Failure was defined as the appearance of persistent epithelial defect (nonhealing epithelial defect for more than 2 weeks) with progressive corneal conjunctivalization/vascularization and thinning, and also progression of conjunctivalization to the central 6 mm of the cornea in eyes with subsequent keratoplasty. RESULTS: The mean age of 31 male and 9 female patients were 32.32 ± 12.6 years. LSCD was bilateral in 8 cases. The mean follow-up was 77.2 ± 35.1 months. The presentations were in acute phase in 37.5%, in subacute phase in 32.5% and in chronic phase in 30% of the patients. Only 13 of 48 (27.1%) eyes obtained sufficient ocular surface stability through medical treatment; however, only 5 of these eyes achieved CDVA of less than 0.7 logMAR. Limbal stem cell transplantation was performed in 26 eyes as conjunctival limbal autograft, living-related conjunctival limbal allograft and keratolimbal allograft or as a combination of these transplantations. At the last visit, 30 eyes (62.5%) had an intact and stable ocular surface. Clear cornea was achieved in 11 (78.6%) of 14 eyes with grade 2 injury, in 9 (60%) of 15 eyes with grade 3 injury, in 5 (50%) of 10 eyes with grade 4 injury, in 1 (16.6%) of 6 eyes with grade 5 injury and in 1 (33.3%) of 3 eyes with grade 6 injury. The CDVA that was 1.66 ± 0.99 logMAR initially improved to 0.87 ± 0.85 logMAR at the last visit (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: While patients with low-grade chemical injury seem to benefit quite well from the medical treatment, amniotic membrane transplantation, limbal graft transplantation and subsequent keratoplasty; patients with severe injuries seem to be more prone to failure after all of the available treatment modalities.

Use of the Boston Ocular Surface Prosthesis in the management of severe periorbital thermal injuries: a case series of 10 patients.

PURPOSE: To report the use of the Boston Ocular Surface Prosthesis (BOSP) in patients with severe periorbital thermal injuries. DESIGN: Retrospective, interventional case series. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with severe periorbital thermal injuries treated with the BOSP. METHODS: Chart review of 10 consecutive patients (16 eyes) who sustained severe periorbital thermal injuries during combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and were treated for exposure keratopathy with the BOSP, a Food and Drug Administration-approved gas-permeable, scleral contact lens. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Corneal epithelial defect healing, uncorrected and best-corrected visual acuity, and BOSP wear time. RESULTS: Exposure keratopathy occurred after severe periorbital thermal injuries and followed a predictable course of scar contracture. In all patients, vision-threatening ocular surface disease developed as a result of chronic ocular exposure. Rehabilitation of the ocular surface was accomplished using the BOSP, with 10 of the 16 treated eyes achieving a corrected visual acuity of 20/70 or better. Five eyes achieved a best-corrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better. The BOSP also was used as a drug-delivery vehicle to treat corneal ulcers successfully in 6 eyes. The only eye that required penetrating keratoplasty was an early intervention believed to be a direct sequelae of the original thermal burn, rather than a failure of the BOSP regimen. The mean BOSP wear time was 16 hours per day. CONCLUSIONS: The BOSP can play an important role in rehabilitation of the ocular surface for patients with severe periorbital thermal injuries and resultant exposure keratopathy. Use of the BOSP should be considered as a treatment option for these difficult cases of severe periorbital thermal injuries.

[Rehabilitation of patients with burn injury to the eye].

Based on the analysis of the results of treatment in patients with severe and particularly severe burn injuries to the eye, the authors developed principles in the rehabilitation of such patients. The rehabilitation period was divided into 4 stages: 1) treatment of burn injury (removal of necrotic tissues; revascularization of the outer membrane of the eyeball; prevention of cicatricial deformity of the eyelids); 2) treatment of burn disease complications (blood blepharorrhaphy, soft contact lenses, maximum antihypertensive therapy, treatment of cataract and glaucoma); 3) reconstruction of the eyelids, conjunctival vaults, eyeball surface (transplantation of autologous skin flaps, oral mucosa, fixation of leukoma with the automucosa, autocartilage); 4) functional rehabilitation (limbic transplantation, keratoplasty, keratic replacement with a Fedorov-Zuyev prosthesis). The use of the scheme in clinical practice can achieve a considerable reduction in the time of rehabilitation and the rate of functional and anatomic death of the injured eye and improve the functional outcomes of treatment in patients with severe and especially severe burn injury to the eye.

Surgical rehabilitation following severe ocular burns.

Chemical and thermal burns can cause devastating injuries to the anterior segment. The consequences of alkali injuries are notoriously severe due to the rapid penetration of these agents into the ocular tissues. Denaturation of tissue, inflammation, and scarring leads to loss of function. An understanding of the pathogenesis of tissue damage has lead to a rational approach to treatment. Emergency irrigation of the eye is essential and there is a 'window of opportunity' during the first 7-10 days after injury when medical treatment can significantly limit the potentially blinding consequences. The acute injury is followed by early and late reparative phases during which the prognosis can be further improved by surgical intervention. Early surgical intervention is targeted at protecting the ocular surface and encouraging re-epithelisation. Later, surgical treatments are directed at ocular surface reconstruction and restoration of vision. However, before any attempt is made at surface reconstruction, the ocular surface environment must be optimised by division of symblepharon, and correction of lid deformity and trichiasis. If there is conjunctivalisation of the corneal surface, limbal stem cell transplantation can restore a corneal epithelial cell phenotype, and transplantation of in vitroamplified corneal epithelial stem cells has been developed as an alternative to keratolimbal transfer techniques. Keratoplasty and cataract surgery may then be necessary to clear the visual axis. Finally, keratoprosthesis is an option for the most severely damaged eyes.

[Limbic transplantation in the surgical rehabilitation of patients with prior severe ocular burns].

The paper provides the results of limbic transplantations in 21 patients with varying postburn leukomas. Autolimbic (n = 6; 28.6%) and limbic (n = 15; 71.4%) transplantation was performed 34.27 +/- 13 months after injury. Limbic transplantation with removal of the fibrovascular pannus resulted in improved visual acuity in all cases with the relatively transparent corneal stroma (Group 1; n = 10). In some cases, limbic transplantation could circumvent the problems associated with corneal graft epithelization after further corneal transplantations in Group 2 patients (n = 8) with turbid corneal stroma. In Group 3, surgery was made to prevent corneal changes occurring when the bulbar conjunctiva was removed during plastic repair of mucosal fornices from the lip. Postoperative recurrent corneal conjunctivization and epithelial erosion were observed only in 4 patients. The findings are of value in defining the site and indications for limbic transplantations in the surgical rehabilitation of patients who have experienced severe eye burns.

[Limbal transplantation in the treatment of and optic rehabilitation of the patients with severe chemical burns of the eyes]. / Limbal'naia transplantatsiia v lechenii i zritel'noi reabilitatsii patsientov s tiazhelymi khimicheskimi ozhogami glaz.

Described in the paper are the results of observations of the autogenous and allogenic limb transplantation (LT) made in 4 patients at exacerbation of severe and extra severe burns of the eyes and made in 8 patients in the remote period after severe chemical burns (4 months and more after trauma). A total vascularized corneal leukoma shaped up in 3 patients with LT made at exacerbation; an intense corneal opacification was observed in 1 more such patient. As for the patients, who were operated on in the remote period, better corneal properties and significantly improved visual acuity were registered in them. Relapsing corneal conjunctivalization were observed only in 3 cases of allogenic LT. Thus, LT was proven to be an effective tool in the remote visual rehabilitation of patients with severe eye burns, whereas, the procedure made at exacerbation and in cases of acute and extra acute burns with extensive lesions in the conjunctiva is low effective or a failure.

[Priority trends in the sphere of eye injuries]. / Prioritetnye napravleniia v probleme glaznogo travmatizma.

Comprehensive recent research of eye traumatism is described, aspects related with changes in the trauma structure are defined and advanced methods of diagnostics as well as of therapeutic and surgical treatment in eye trauma are elucidated in the paper. It is pointed out that the above study results are valuable for rehabilitation of victims during peacetime, in emergency situations and in calamities; the contribution of civil ophthalmologic institutions to rendering a specialized medical care to victims of military conflicts is equally important. The case study comprises extensive research findings that can be used in the below cases requiring a specialized medical care: penetrating eye injuries, contusion, burn injuries of the eye, splintered trauma etc.; the current micro-surgery standards must be adhered to and the latest technologies must be used. Finally, the important role of and valuable contributions to the above research made by the Calamity Medicine Center ("Zashchita") are underlined.

[The use of therapeutic soft contact lenses for eliminating blepharospastic blindness in eye burns of mild to moderate degrees of severity]. / Primenenie lechebnykh miagkikh kontaktnykh linz dlia sniatiia blefarospasticheskoi slepoty pri ozhogakh glaz legkoi i srednei stepeni tiazhesti.

Application of soft contact lens made of hi-hydrofiled polymeric material for patients with blepharospastic blindness makes it possible to remove or considerably diminish the corneal syndrome in slight and middle gravity burns. Most patients could be returned to their ranks and occupations.

Chemical injuries of the eye.

This overview of the biochemical and pathophysiologic events after chemical burns of the eye is intended to act as a guide for appropriate therapy. Effective emergency measures must be instituted immediately followed by careful clinical evaluation to recognize and then treat problems at their inception. When and how to use the variety of drugs and devices is detailed. When these new methods and technology are applied successfully the clinical course may be improved and visual rehabilitation secured. The early results of conjunctival transplantation and hormonal therapy offer promise from experimental procedures. Exciting new treatments employing the foodstuffs ascorbate or citrate (orthomolecular therapy) are currently under investigation. The National Eye Institute sponsors our ongoing randomized clinical trial of these compounds in the treatment of the alkali burned eye. The outcome may change our thinking and our expectations after chemical burns of the eye.