Temporary Kerato-Prosthesis to Resolve Traumatic Loss of a Healed Corneal Button

• Main Authors: Alessandra Balestrazzi, Alessandro Di Maggio, Paolo Michieletto, Gianluca Martone, Angelo Balestrazzi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Karger Publishers 2021-04-01
• Series: Case Reports in Ophthalmology
• Subjects: temporary kerato-prosthesis; corneal button loss; trauma
• Online Access: https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/509847

The aim of this study is to report a rare case of traumatic complete loss of a donor corneal button successfully resolved by a 24-h implantation of a temporary kerato-prosthesis. A healthy 30-year-old man with a history of prior penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) presented with an open globe following accidental contusive trauma with a ball, while he was playing football. At slit-lamp evaluation, complete dehiscence of the wound at the graft-host junction and complete corneal button loss was evident. The patient was immediately taken to the operating room, but a donor cornea was not available; therefore, a vitreo-retinal temporary kerato-prosthesis was implanted to close the eyeball until a new donor cornea was available. In case of complete dehiscence of the donor-host junction after PKP with corneal button loss, it is possible to use a temporary kerato-prosthesis to stabilize the eye and contain the intraocular structures. We recommend the availability of temporary vitreo-retinal kerato-prosthesis in the operating theatres of Corneal Surgical Units.