Uveitic band keratopathy: child and adult

BACKGROUND: Calcified band keratopathy is a chronic degenerative disease characterized by the deposition of gray to white opacity in superficial layers of the cornea that typically develops over months or years. It is associated with a variety of conditions, including chronic uveitis. PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to assess visual acuity and corneal changes in patients with band keratopathy secondary to uveitis who underwent phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK). SETTING: The place where this study was performed was in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Federal University of Sao Paulo. DESIGN: This is a retrospective study. METHODS: Patients with uveitic band keratopathy were submitted to PTK. The PTK was performed using Allegreto Wave EX500, with the ablation area of 6 mm. RESULTS: Twelve patients (13 eyes) diagnosed with band keratopathy secondary to chronic uveitis were analyzed. Of the 12 patients, 8 patients were female (66 %), aged 22 years (7–53 years). From the 12 patients (13 eyes) evaluated in this study, only one patient (one eye) did not have visual improvement, due to epithelial deposits 2 weeks after PTK, and all the others benefited with the procedure. In the children group, all eyes had visual improvement, and quantitatively speaking, the children had a more significant improvement than adults. CONCLUSIONS: PTK is a safe and effective procedure even for children. However, the improvement in visual acuity was restricted due to other ocular changes secondary to uveitis, such as cataract and retinal changes, or even the corneal irregularity.