PURPOSE To investigate corneal nerve damage and its subsequent regeneration after excimer laser photokeratectomy in rabbit eyes. METHODS Corneal photokeratectomy was performed on the right eyes of 34 pigmented rabbits, while the left eyes were used as a control. A Summit UV 200 excimer laser (Summit Technology, Waltham, MA) was used to produce a 100 microns depth phototherapeutic keratectomy ...

Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Eye Care Center, University of British Columbia, 2550 Willow Street, Vancouver, BC V5Z 3N9, Canada Department of Ophthalmology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Brandon Regional Health Authority, Brandon, MB, Canada Author for correspondence: [email protected] Recent advances in technology and our understanding of corneal physiology have led to...

BACKGROUND Calcified band keratopathy is a chronic degenerative disease characterized by the deposition of gray to white opacity in superficial layers of the cornea that typically develops over months or years. It is associated with a variety of conditions, including chronic uveitis. PURPOSE The objective of this study is to assess visual acuity and corneal changes in patients with band kerat...

OBJECTIVE To describe the epithelial healing rates observed in freshly cultured rabbit corneas chemically burned with high-concentration hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and subsequently treated with phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK). METHODS We obtained 126 fresh corneoscleral rims from cadaveric New Zealand white rabbits. Each cornea was exposed to 4-mm cellulose sponges...

AIMS/BACKGROUND To evaluate the extent of oxygen radical damage in the cornea after excimer laser ablation. METHODS The 193 nm argon fluoride excimer laser was programmed for an average fluence of 150 mJ/cm2, with a firing rate of 5 Hz and an ablation zone diameter of 6 mm. Phototherapeutic keratectomy was performed to remove 30 microns of epithelium and 50 microns of stroma from the corneas ...

PURPOSE To investigate the long-term clinical outcomes and recurrence patterns of phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) in patients with granular corneal dystrophy type 2 (GCD2) exacerbated after LASIK. METHODS Fifty-one patients (76 eyes) with GCD2 exacerbated after LASIK who underwent PTK between January 2007 and February 2017 were included. Participants underwent ophthalmic examination, inclu...

PURPOSE To evaluate the treatment outcomes and costs of early keratectomy in the management of moderate Fusarium keratitis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Consecutive cases of culture proven Fusarium keratitis treated at our hospital between January 2004 to December 2010 were included in this retrospective study. There were 38 cases of moderate keratitis with infiltrates between 3 to 6 mm in ...

PURPOSE To examine the role of Bowman's layer (BL) on the nature of anterior corneal regeneration after excimer laser phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK). METHODS A cohort of 13 patients underwent PTK to remove either 7 mum of BL for treatment of primary recurrent corneal erosions (RCE; six patients) or complete BL removal (15-mum ablation) to treat RCE or poor vision secondary to map-dot-fing...