Phototherapeutic keratectomy efficiency in treatment of persistent and recurrent erosions of keratograft

Purpose. To evaluate the efficacy of phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) in the treatment of persistent and recurrent keratograft erosions after penetrating keratoplasty. Material and methods. A series of 6 clinical cases of patients with persistent or recurrent keratograft epithelial defects after penetrating keratoplasty that were not treatable by conservative methods is presented. All patients underwent phototherapeutic keratectomy. Results and discussion. In all cases, full epithelialization was achieved in 3.7 ± 0.8 days. According to the LogMAR scale, visual acuity was 1.79 ± 0.24 before treatment and 1.04±0.21 on the tenth day after PTK, p = 0.027, no changes at later follow-up period. The average follow-up period, during which no recurrence of the epithelial defect was detected in any of the cases, was 5.8 ± 1.6 months. In none of the cases did patients use bandage soft contact lens later than 12 days after FTK. Conclusion. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of treatment of persistent and recurrent epithelial defects of the keratograft using PTK in severe, long-term and resistant cases. PTK allows leads to fast and complete epithelialization of the defect, relief of symptoms and increased visual acuity long-term, regardless of the cause of the epithelial defect. Keywords: keratoplasty; phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK); corneal erosion