A Case of Alkali Burn Treated With Amniotic Membrane Graft and Forniceal Reconstruction

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To report a case of alkali burn treated successfully with early surgical intervention including amniotic membrane graft and forniceal reconstructionand the restored visual acuity. CASE SUMMARY: A 23-year-old woman was referred for alkali burn of her right eye after being splashed with a drop of 40% sodium hydroxide. Slit-lamp microscopic examination showed the patient's cornea was edematous, and hazy and limbal ischemia involved half of the cornea, which can supposedly lead to eyelid deformity and symblepharon. Debridement of all necrotic tissues, immediate amniotic membrane permanent graft and transient forniceal covering with amniotic membrane were conducted a day after the burn. Corneal and conjunctival epithelial defects were completely healed in five weeks, and visual acuity was restored to 20/20 in eight weeks. Additional surgeries for allogenic limbal transplantation and autologous oral mucosal graft were performed to resolve symblepharon.