EARLY STERILE KERATOLYSIS COMPLICATION WITH DECELLULARIZED PORCINE CORNEAL INLAY IMPLANT: A CASE REPORT AND CAUTIONARY TALE
Published 2025 - 29th ESCRS Winter Meeting
Reference: PO076 | Type: Presented Poster & Poster | DOI: 10.82333/gb6b-nf66
Authors: Amina Riaz* 1 , Mohammad Ahmad 1 , Alfredo Borgia 1 , Matteo Airaldi 1 , Neil Lagali 2 , Stephen z 1 , Vito Romano 1
1Ophthalmology,Royal Liverpool Hospital,Liverpool,United Kingdom, 2Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences,Link ̈oping University,Link ̈oping,Sweden
Purpose
To describe an early sterile keratolysis associated with a decellularized porcine corneal inlay implant for keratoconus
Setting
Case report of a young patient with keratoconus that was treated with a corneal inlay that presented at a tertiary referral centre
Methods
This is a case report of a 23-year-old male with keratoconus who underwent lenticular intrastromal keratoplasty in his right eye. Within four weeks, the patient presented with anterior sterile keratolysis and partial inlay extrusion, leading to surgical inlay removal.
Results
After inlay removal, despite aggressive topical treatment including steroid drops, antibiotic ointment, and bandage contact lenses, the patient developed severe anterior scarring and corneal flattening, resulting in decreased visual acuity. Over a period of four months, the cornea underwent long-term remodelling, with vision improving to a best-corrected distance visual acuity of 0.1 LogMAR.
Conclusion
The removal of the porcine corneal inlay due to severe keratolysis highlights the potential risks of this procedure. Additionally, the spontaneous improvement in visual acuity over four months emphasises the need for adequate healing time before further surgeries, such as keratoplasty.