The Effect of Early Amniotic Membrane Transplantation in the Rabbits' Corneal Ulcer by Staphylococcus Epidermidis

Lee, Dae Jin; Seo, Seong Wook; Yoo, Ji Myung

Abstract

PURPOSE
Untill now, AMT at the early stage of corneal ulcer has been prohibited by the reasons that measurement of progression of ulcer by active pathogens was difficult through the transplanted amniotic membrane and anxiety about worsening by decreased permeability of antibiotics. This study has investigated the effect of early AMT in the bacterial corneal ulcer.
METHODS
We made experimental bacterial corneal ulcer in 10 rabbits with Staphylococcus epidermidis, which typically has a more indolent clinical course. After certification of infection, fresh amniotic membranes, soaked by fortified antibiotics was transplanted to 5 eyes to which we dropped fortified antibiotics. And to another 5 eyes we applied only fortified antibiotics. After observing the progression of corneal ulcer for 4 weeks, we compared the degree of corneal opacity and histopathologic changes between the two groups to measure the effect of early AMP in the bacterial corneal ulcer.
RESULTS
Corneal ulcer was healed in the all 5 cases of early AMT-performed group, And compared with the group without AMT, successful decrement of corneal opacity was observed in the 4 cases of early AMT-performed group. Histopathologic observation has revealed only mild inflammation and the maintenance of parallel architecture of stromal collagens.
CONCLUSIONS
In the experimental corneal ulcer with Staphylococcus Epidermidis, we observed healing of the ulcer with decrement of corneal opacity, result from early transplantation of amniotic membrane, soaked in fortified antibiotics followed by dropping of fortified antibiotics at an early stage of ulcer.