Preliminary outcomes of amniotic membrane transplantation combined with anterior stromal puncture for bullous keratopathy
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Abstract
An uncontrolled interventional clinical study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of amniotic membrane transplantation combined with anterior stromal puncture in the treatment of painful bullous keratopathy. Data were collected from 24 eyes (24 patients) at the Vietnam National Eye Hospital from September 2024 to August 2026. The results showed pain reduction in 100% of eyes, with 87.5% achieving complete pain relief after 3 months of follow-up. The mean VAS pain score decreased from 7.50 ± 0.72 to 0.46 ± 0.88. Symptoms of foreign body sensation and eye redness improved remarkably, with only 8.3% of eyes presenting with mild tearing. Visual acuity remained unchanged in the majority of eyes (79.2%). The mean epithelialization time was 9.17 ± 3.36 days. Small recurrent bullae were observed in 16.7% of eyes but were completely asymptomatic. This method is a safe and effective analgesic solution for patients with bullous keratopathy who are refractory to medical therapy and lack access to corneal transplantation.
Article Details
Keywords
Amniotic membrane transplantation, anterior stromal puncture, bullous keratopathy
References
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