Two Cases of Soft Prosthokeratoplasty on Alkali Burn

ABSTRACT

In cases of corneal opacity due to severe chemical burn, the success rate of lamellar or penetrating keratoplasty is very poor. Therefore, various types of keratoprosthesis were developed and tried in these chemical burn patients. However, the previous hard keratoprosthesis such as Cardona's bolt and nut type has disadvantages of narrow visual field and high protrusion rate. In 1991, Dr. Caldwell developed 'Soft Keratoprosthesis' made of polyurethane improved the clinical results of hard kemtoprosthesis. We performed soft prosthokeratoplasty on two cases of chemical burn and evaluated their clinical results From our experience of this soft keratoprosthesis, it may have much more longevity than the previous hard one and also have the advantage of good visual outcome and wide peripheral visual field.