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Donation of superior, inferior limbus with adjacent conjunctiva appears to be safe
Ophthalmology. 2011;118(7):1265-1271.
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Harvest of superior and inferior limbus with 3 mm × 3 mm of adjacent conjunctiva may be a safe procedure for donors of autologous and living-related donor limbal transplants, a study suggested.
“We have found that removal of one-third of the donor limbus in the form of two pieces of 2 clock hours each (a total of 120·) from the superior and inferior limbus was sufficient and yielded adequate epithelial growth onto the recipient cornea stroma,” the study authors said.
In a retrospective, observational, consecutive case series, 25 eyes of 23 subjects who had undergone superior and inferior limbus donation were studied. All subjects experienced discomfort in the first 4 weeks after the harvest, and all eyes showed re-epithelialization of the peripheral denuded limbus within 2 weeks after surgery.
No significant drop in best corrected visual acuity was reported.
Complications included filamentary keratitis and subconjunctival hemorrhage in four eyes, but the central corneal epithelium remained normal in all eyes. Mean follow-up time was 41 months.
Because of the retrospective nature of the study, the research was limited by the inability to collect immediate outcome measures of the donor subjects.