Amniotic Membrane Transplantation in the Management of Shield Ulcers of Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Human amniotic membrane has been used to variable ocular surface disorder. We report a case of the usefulness of amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) for vernal keratoconjunctivitis "Shield ulcer". METHODS: A 12-year-old male patient was diagnosed to have vernal keratoconjunctivitis "Shield ulcer" and treated with medical therapy for four weeks. But he showed severe itiching, foreign body sensation, decreased visual acuity and continued to corneoconjunctival lesion and then, Amniotic membrane transplantation with stromal side down was performed after debridement of the ulcer bed and therapeutic contact lens was applied. RESULTS: At tenth day after AMT, ulcer size was decreased and corneal state was generally improved with restoration of visual acuity. One month after, he has been comfortable with improved visual acuity, giant papillae of upper tarsal conjunctiva was nearly complete remission. CONCLUSIONS: AMT is an effective method for managing vernal keratoconjunctivitis "Shield ulcer", that are refractory to conventional medical treatment.