DR. ANIRUDDH HEROOR

DR. MURTHY SOMASHEILA I.

Abstract

Microbial keratitis can progress to severe corneal thinning or perforation. Modalities such as tissue adhesives are limited to small perforations while amniotic membrane grafts and corneal transplants are subject to availability. Tenons patch graft is an emerging technique used to seal perforations and its use has rarely been reported in active infections. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 8 cases. Primary outcome measure was tectonic stability at the one month post-operative visit.The etiology was fungal in 2 eyes, viral in 2 and 4 eyes were presumed bacterial. The perforation varied from 2 to 4.5mm in size (mean 2.94mm). 7/8 eyes (87.5%) achieved tectonic stability and one eye had leak from the graft edge which stabilized after augmentation with tissue adhesive. None of the eyes had worsening of infection.Tenons patch graft is a viable alternative to other modalities in sealing medium-sized perforations in active microbial keratitis; especially in resource limited settings.