Temporal and Spatial Assessment of the Corneal Response to UV Cross-Linking Using 3-Dimensional In Vivo Confocal Microscopy

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Abstract

The goal of this study was to evaluate the temporal and spatial pattern of wound healing following UV corneal cross-linking (CXL) using 3-dimensional (3-D) confocal imaging in vivo. Using a modified Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph with Rostock Corneal Module confocal microscope, we performed 3-D scans on two patients at multiple time points after CXL. Patient 1 showed a normal post-CXL wound healing response, with initial subbasal nerve loss and keratocyte apoptosis in the anterior stroma, followed by partial restoration of both the nerve plexus and stromal keratocytes by 6 months. In patient 2, in addition to anterior corneal damage, pyknotic nuclei were observed in the posterior stroma 7 days after CXL. Acellular areas were present in the posterior stroma at 3 months, with only partial keratocyte repopulation at 6 months. Regeneration of the subbasal nerve plexus was also delayed. Three-dimensional confocal imaging allowed these unusual wound healing responses to be identified in the absence of any corresponding clinical observations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)308-312
Number of pages5
JournalEye and Contact Lens
Volume48
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2022

Keywords

  • 3-D reconstruction
  • Corneal wound healing
  • In vivo confocal microscopy
  • UV corneal crosslinking

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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