Artificial keratoplasty

According to the World Health Organization, globally 4.9 million are blind due to corneal pathology. Although corneal transplantation is effective treatment to restore vision in many patients, corneal graft will not be successful in some cases including: harsh ocular surface environment (severe dry eye and lid defense mechanism damage), chronic ocular inflammation (increased chance of rejection), stem cell deficiency (requirement of immunosuppression). Keratoprosthesis (KPro) is an ancient idea to use artificial cornea for keratoplasty; it predates the origin of corneal transplantation. Several keratoprosthetic devices have been invented but two are commonly used: Boston KPro Type I and the Falcinelli-modified osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (MOOKP). Although these tow devices have acceptable outcomes, there are both anatomical failure (device extrusion) and long-term ocular complications. There are many efforts for manufacturing a device to have better biocompatibility and biointegration. It seems that better options for artificial keratoplasty will be available in near future

Keywords:

Keratoprosthesis , Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis , Boston KPro , Artificial keratoplasty