title: Outcome of conjunctival flap repair for corneal defects with and without an acellular submucosa implant in 73 canine eyes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report and compare the success rate of a conjunctival pedicle flap (CPF) alone vs. a CPF with an underlying acellular submucosa implant for the repair of deep or perforating corneal wounds in dogs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Records of 69 dogs (73 eyes) receiving a CPF with or without an acellular submucosa implant between 2004 and 2012 were reviewed. Successful outcome was defined as a comfortable eye with vision at the last post-operative evaluation. Age, breed, underlying corneal disease, surgical time, lesion characteristics, topical therapies, and postoperative complications were investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Groups consisted of dogs that had a CPF alone (n = 37) and dogs that had a CPF plus an acellular submucosa implant (n = 36). Age, lesion size, surgical time, and time to discontinuation of topical anti-proteolytic medications was not significant between groups. Topical antibiotic use was terminated 13 days sooner (P ≤ 0.01) in dogs with an acellular submucosa implant. The combined success rate of all corneal wounds was 93% with success rate of corneal perforations, descemetoceles, and deep stromal wounds being 89%, 95%, and 100%, respectively. There was no difference in overall success rate between groups. Increasing age was associated with a negative outcome (P ≤ 0.01). Lesion size, presence of a corneal perforation, and concurrent keratoconjunctivitis sicca was not associated with a negative outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A comparable success rate is achieved for deep or perforating corneal wounds stabilized with a CPF alone vs. a CPF plus acellular submucosa. Glaucoma, persistent uveitis, and cataract formation were not reported as post-operative complications in this study population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, 501 D.W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Dorbandt
authors.forename: Phillip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Kathern E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Myrna
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D065306:Corneal Injuries / Q000601:surgery / Q000662:veterinary*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000662:veterinary; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: acellular submucosa; conjunctival flap; corneal bioscaffold; corneal implant; corneal perforation; descemetocele