Autologous limbal transplantation in unilateral chemical burns

Purpose: To describe the results of autologous limbal transplantation in the treatment of unilateral chemical burns. Patients and methods: Two patients, a 40-year-old male (case 1) and a 35-year-old male (case 2), experienced grade III chemical trauma and were treated with autologous limbal grafting (case 1) after a postaccident period of 3 and 9 months, respectively. Change in visual acuity, epithelial healing time and postsurgical topography healing patterns were documented. Results: Snellen visual acuity improved from 0.1 to 1.0 in both cases. Epithelial healing time for cases 1 and 2 were 4 and 2 weeks, respectively. Corneal topography of case 1 showed an induced inferior steepness type of asymmetrical astigmatism in the graft area. Serial topography showed no induced astigmatism in the donor eyes. Conclusion: Autologous limbal grafting is an adequate treatment for selected cases of unilateral chemical burns and facilitates rapid improvement in visual function. Early limbal grafting in case 1 resulted in rapid re-epithelialization and prevention of complications.