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Re-epithelialization with autologous cultivated oral muscosal epithelium successful in scar phase
Br J Ophthalmol. 2011;95(7):942-946.
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Tissue-engineered cultivated oral mucosal epithelial sheets successfully reconstructed the ocular surface during the scar phase of severe ocular surface disorders, according to a study.
Nineteen eyes of 17 patients with total limbal stem cell deficiency underwent ocular surface reconstruction with cultivated oral muscosal epithelial transplantation. The mean follow-up time was 55 months.
Autologous cultivated oral muscosal epithelial sheets were successfully generated for all 17 patients, although in one case only 70% of the cultivated epithelial sheet showed mature stratification. All eyes showed total re-epithelialization of the corneal surface in 2 to 7 days after surgery. Best corrected visual acuity improved in 18 eyes (95%) and visual acuity improved in 10 eyes (53%) at 36 months of follow-up.
“The patients with OSD reported here were the most severe cases we encountered, necessitating the reconstruction of not only the corneal surface but also the surrounding ocular surface,” the study authors said.
Postoperative complications included a small epithelial defect (5% to 26%), persistent epithelial defects (37%), ocular hypertension (16%) and corneal infection (5%).