Apart from a corneal transplant, are there any other ways to treat a corneal scar caused by herpes keratitis?
AUG 25, 2016
Question:
Apart from a corneal transplant, are there any other ways to treat a corneal scar caused by herpes keratitis? I have read of a trial in Australia that treated corneal scarring by scraping cells from the "good eye" and using them in a contact lens on the "bad" eye, initiating a self-healing response in the bad eye that healed the scar.
Answer:
Herpes keratitis can cause a disruption in the normal collagen structure of the cornea (the clear front “window” of the eye) resulting in the loss of transparency and a scar. Depending on the depth of the scar, different surgical procedures are recommended to remove the scar. In the outer layers of the cornea, the scar may be able to be peeled or scraped away. A scar in the middle layer may be able to be removed in a laser procedure known as PTK (Photo Therapeutic Keratectomy). Corneal transplants, either full or partial, can also be performed to remove the section of the cornea containing the scar. I am not aware of the procedure you are describing.