Longitudinal Evaluation of Wound Healing after Penetrating Corneal Injury: Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography Study

• Published in: Current eye research Vol. 42; no. 7; pp. 982 - 986
• Main Authors: Zheng, Kang Keng, Cai, Jianhao, Rong, Shi Song, Peng, Kun, Xia, Honghe, Jin, Chuan, Lu, Xuehui, Liu, Xinyu, Chen, Haoyu, Jhanji, Vishal
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 03.07.2017
• Subjects: Adult; Anterior Eye Segment - diagnostic imaging; Anterior Eye Segment - injuries; Anterior Eye Segment - surgery; Anterior segment optical coherence tomography; Cornea - pathology; Corneal Injuries - diagnosis; Corneal Injuries - surgery; Eye Injuries, Penetrating - diagnosis; Eye Injuries, Penetrating - surgery; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; ocular trauma; Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures - methods; outcomes; penetrating corneal injury; Postoperative Period; Time Factors; Tomography, Optical Coherence - methods; Wound Healing; Young Adult; wound healing; ocular trauma; Anterior segment optical coherence tomography; outcomes; penetrating corneal injury
• ISSN: 0271-3683; 1460-2202
• DOI: 10.1080/02713683.2016.1274038

Purpose: Ocular imaging can enhance our understanding of wound healing. We report anterior segment optical coherence tomography (ASOCT) findings in penetrating corneal injury. Methods: Serial ASOCT was performed after repair of penetrating corneal injury. Internal aberrations of wound edges were labeled as "steps" or "gaps" on ASOCT images. The wound type was characterized as: type 1: continuous inner wound edge or step height ≤ 80 µm; type 2: step height > 80 µm; type 3: gap between wound edges; and type 4: intraocular tissue adherent to wound. Surgical outcomes of different wound types were compared. Results: 50 consecutive patients were included (6 females, 44 males; mean age 33 ± 12 years). The average size of wound was 4.2 ± 2.6 mm (type 1, 8 eyes; type 2, 27 eyes; type 3, 12 eyes; type 4, 3 eyes). At the end of 3 months, 70% (n = 35) of the wounds were type 1. At the end of 6 months, all type 1 wounds had healed completely, whereas about half of type 2 (48.1%) and type 3 (50%) wounds had recovered to type 1 configuration. The wound type at baseline affected the height of step (p = 0.047) and corneal thickness at 6 months (p = 0.035). Conclusions: ASOCT is a useful tool for monitoring wound healing in cases with penetrating corneal injury. Majority of the wound edges appose between 3 and 6 months after trauma. In our study, baseline wound configuration affected the healing pattern.