This case report describes the surgical technique and outcome of allograft transplantation to treat full thickness corneal abscesses in three horses. In all three cases penetrating keratoplasty was performed. Each affected eye had an abscess within the corneal stroma. An initial full thickness circular corneal incision was made around the lesion. After excision of the stromal abscess the created defect was replaced with a larger diameter full thickness donor graft and the initial corneal incision was repaired. All of the horses that underwent penetrating keratoplasty procedure healed with a scar at the graft site and remained visual. Penetrating keratoplasty is an effective technique for surgical removal of medically nonresponsive full thickness stromal abscess in horses and results in a visual and cosmetically acceptable globe. The advantages of this technique compared to medical therapy are that there is less scarring, shorter healing times and less damage of the globe because of the concurrent uveitis. To the authors’ knowledge, clinical experience with penetrating keratoplasty in horses has not been reported in Europe so far.
Abstract
The first successful corneal transplantation is known since 1905, performed by Eduard Zirm (2). It has been implemented in order to restore vision in a variety of corneal diseases and after ocular traumas. The traditional technique for corneal transplantation, penetrating keratoplasty (PKP), refers to the full-thickness replacement of corneal tissue with a healthy donor graft (1). Authors report a well-documented case about successfully transplanted cornea after penetrating ocular trauma to improve visual outcome.
Penetrating keratoplasty for treatment of corneal abscesses in horses – case report