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Lamellar keratoplasty seen as best surgical option for fungal keratitis
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NUSA DUA, Indonesia — Lamellar keratoplasty may be a better option than penetrating keratoplasty in the treatment of fungal keratitis in which medical therapy is ineffective, according to a speaker here.
 Lixin Xie |
In the Arthur Lim Award Lecture here at the joint meeting of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and American Academy of Ophthalmology, Lixin Xie, MD, gave a detailed analysis of the benefits of lamellar keratoplasty over conjunctival flap and penetrating keratoplasty.
"The advantages of lamellar keratoplasty are: a less than 10% graft rejection rate, only the infected tissue is eliminated from the cornea and the recipient endothelium is preserved," he said.
Complications associated with penetrating keratoplasty are immune rejection, fungal recurrence and chronic graft dysfunction. For these reasons, penetrating keratoplasty should be a last resort option, according to Dr. Xie.
"Penetrating keratoplasty is indicated when there is a full-thickness corneal infection, corneal perforation or recurrence after lamellar keratoplasty," he said.
"Lamellar keratoplasty appears to be the best procedure for fungal keratitis," Dr. Xie concluded. "Lamellar keratoplasty is the first option when the ulcer does not involve all corneal layers."