Results of Scleral Allografting on Scleral Necrosis Following Pterygium Excision.

Na, Yoon Soo; Joo, Myung Jin; Kim, Jae Ho

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 2005;46(3):402-409.
Published online March 31, 2005.

Results of Scleral Allografting on Scleral Necrosis Following Pterygium Excision.

Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. Kimjheye@ijnc.inje.ac.kr

익상편 절제술 후 발생한 공막괴사에 대한 동종공막이식수술 성적

나윤수,주명진,김재호

Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence: Yoon-Soo Na, M.D.

Abstract

PURPOSE
To emphasize the importance of conjunctival flap or amniotic membrane covering on the scleral allograft for scleral necrosis following pterygium excision. METHODS: Five eyes in four patients showed signs of impending perforation caused by scleral necrosis following pterygium excision, with strontium irradiation in four eyes and with instillation of mitomycin C in the other eye for preventing recurrence of pterygium. All cases were transplanted human sclera stored at -20 degrees C in Eye-Bank. Among them, the patient's own conjunctiva was used to cover the scleral allograft with interrupted sutures in four eyes, where in the other eye the scleral allograft was alternatively covered over by using human amniotic membrane stored at -70 degrees C. RESULTS: The results of all five cases were very successful without any complications during an average follow-up of 19 months (range 6~25 months). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the clinical experiences of these five cases, we concluded that the covering of the scleral allograft with conjunctiva or amniotic membrane is a very important procedure to ensure the successful viability of the scleral allograft, which is a natural structure of the conjunctiva and sclera.

Key Words: Amniotic membrane transplantation;Conjunctival flap;Scleral allograft