Evaluation of Corneal Epithelial Healing Under Contact Lens with Spectral-Domain Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT)

PURPOSE: To describe a novel technique of using Spectral-domain (SD) anterior segment optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in the evaluation of corneal epithelial healing under a therapeutic contact lens (TCL) after lamellar keratoplasty and Epi-LASIK procedures. DESIGN: Prospective, non-comparative, observational case series. METHODS: Ten eyes of eight patients undergoing lamellar corneal transplantation and Epi-LASIK procedures at the Singapore National Eye Centre were included in the study. Ultra-high resolution SD-OCT scans of the cornea with a TCL in-situ were performed sequentially on the first, third and fifth day after procedure, with the RTVue (Optovue, Inc, Fremont, CA, USA), and the image findings were correlated with the clinical picture. Complete epithelial healing was verified with removal of TCL and fluorescein staining. RESULTS: 5 eyes underwent Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK), 1 eye underwent deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) and 4 eyes underwent Epi-LASIK. All eyes had complete epithelial healing with TCL in-situ by the third post-operative day. SD-OCT images were able to demonstrate the epithelial layer distinctly under the TCL in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: SD-OCT is a valuable imaging tool for monitoring the progression of epithelial healing with TCL in situ in patients following corneal surgical procedures.