Effect of topical anti-inflammatory drugs on corneal and limbal wound healing.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the effect of topical treatment with either steroidal or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the wound healing of corneal and limbal incisions using histologic criteria.


METHODS
Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois, USA.


METHODS
Eighteen eyes of 9 cats were used for the study. All right eyes received a temporal limbal incision and the left eyes, a clear corneal incision. All eyes were treated with ofloxacin 0.3% postoperatively for 3 days. The animals were equally divided among 3 groups. Group 1 received topical steroid drops (prednisolone acetate 1%) for 7 days maximum; Group 2 received topical NSAID drops (ketorolac tromethamine 0.5%) for 7 days maximum; Group 3 received no additional treatment. One animal from each group was killed and the eye enucleated 3, 7, or 28 days postoperatively. The eyes were processed for staining with hematoxylin-eosin and smooth muscle actin, and corneal sections were evaluated in a blind fashion by an ophthalmic pathologist.


RESULTS
Three and 7 days after surgery (1) the limbal incision exhibited more prominent wound healing than the similarly treated clear corneal incision, and (2) the steroid-treated corneas had less wound healing than untreated or NSAID-treated corneas. At 28 days, the wounds in all eyes were almost completely healed.


CONCLUSIONS
Limbal incisions heal faster than clear corneal incisions. Steroids, but not NSAIDs, inhibit wound healing. Cataract surgery using limbal incisions and postoperative topical NSAIDs may result in faster wound healing and provide a reduced risk of related postoperative complications.
Barba
K R
KR
Department of Ophthalmology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois 60153, USA.
Samy
A
A
Lai
C
C
Perlman
J I
JI
Bouchard
C S
CS
D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002387:Cataract Extraction; D002415:Cats; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D020911:Ketorolac Tromethamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016850:Limbus Corneae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions / Q000494:pharmacology; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
D000199:Actins; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; D020911:Ketorolac Tromethamine; C009935:prednisolone acetate; D011239:Prednisolone