Economic, clinical and social impact of simple limbal epithelial transplantation for limbal stem cell deficiency

AIMS: To report the global uptake of simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET) and compare the economic, clinical and social outcomes of SLET with those of cultured limbal epithelial transplantation (CLET). METHODS: A comprehensive literature review and an online survey of eye surgeons were conducted to understand the efficacy and current uptake of SLET surgery. A de novo economic model was developed to estimate the cost savings with SLET compared with CLET. Our economic analysis is conducted from an Indian perspective, as this is where the technique originated. A scenario analysis using the UK cost data and a user-friendly Excel model is included to allow users to input the costs from their setting to estimate the cost savings with using SLET compared with using CLET RESULTS: The anatomical success with SLET in adults (72.6% (range 62%–80%)) was the same as CLET (70.4% (range 68%–80.9%)). For children, the outcome for SLET (77.8% (range 73%–83%)) was better than with CLET (44.5% (range 43%–45%)). In response to our informal questionnaire, 99 surgeons reported to have performed SLET on 1174 patients in total. They appreciated that SLET negates the requirement for costly tissue engineering facilities. Results of economic analysis suggested that SLET provided an estimated cost-savings of US$6470.88 for adults and US$6673.10 for children. In broad terms, the cost of SLET is approximately 10% of the cost of CLET for adults and 8% for children. CONCLUSION: SLET offers a more accessible and financially attractive alternative to CLET to treat limbal stem cell deficiency.