title: Long-term outcome of allogeneic cultivated limbal epithelial transplantation for symblepharon caused by severe ocular burns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The therapeutic effects of allogeneic cultivated limbal epithelial transplantation (CLET) for symblephara at different degrees caused by ocular burns were evaluated in this study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A series of interventional cases were involved in this retrospective study. Eighty eyes (80 patients) with symblephara underwent CLET and the success rates of surgical treatment as well as corneal conditions and risk factors for recurrent symblepharon were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average age of patients was 32.4 ± 13.7 years (ranged from 4 to 60 years). The average follow-up time was 26.4 ± 13.6 months (ranged from 12 to 60 months). Symblepharon cases were caused by chemical burns (36 eyes) or thermal burns (44 eyes). The first surgical intervention achieved complete success in 40 eyes (50%), partial success in 25 eyes (31.3%), and failure in 15 eyes (18.8%). The rate of complete success was 85.0% in eyes with grade I/II symblephara, 51.5% in eyes with grade III eyes and 22.2% in eyes grade IV symblephara (P = 0.001). The treatment was completely successful in 23.1% of eyes with moderate or severe preoperative inflammatory action and 63.0% of eyes with mild or no inflammation (P = 0.000). The corneal conditions were improved in 43 eyes (53.8%), of which 21 eyes had improved visual acuity. The recurrence of symblepharon after the first CLET was positively correlated with symblepharon length (P = 0.003), preoperative inflammatory activity (P = 0.016) as well as postoperative cicatricial entropion and trichiasis (P = 0.038).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CLET was effective on the recovery of anatomically deep fornixes in eyes caused by symblephara and corneal surface condition could be improved simultaneously. The success of surgical treatment was dependent on the effective control of inflammation and timely management of eyelid abnormalities.
authors.affiliation: Shandong Eye Institute, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Qingdao Eye Hospital, 5 Yanerdao Road, Qingdao, 266071, China. alice.567@163.com.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Shandong Eye Institute, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Qingdao Eye Hospital, 5 Yanerdao Road, Qingdao, 266071, China.
authors.forename: Hualei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.affiliation: Shandong Eye Institute, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Qingdao Eye Hospital, 5 Yanerdao Road, Qingdao, 266071, China.
authors.forename: Junyi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Shandong Eye Institute, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 5 Yanerdao Road, 266071, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Haoyun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Shandong Eye Institute, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 5 Yanerdao Road, 266071, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Qingjun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002057:Burns, Chemical / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003315:Cornea / Q000473:pathology*; D065306:Corneal Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D005126:Eye Burns / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016850:Limbus Corneae / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chemical burn; Cultivated limbal epithelial transplantation; Symblepharon; Thermal burn