The Surgical Outcomes of Simple Keratectomy for Limbal Dermoids

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the results of simple keratectomy for limbal dermoids. METHODS: We reviewed the ocular records of 29 consecutive patients with limbal dermoids who had undergone simple keratectomy in Seoul National University Children's hospital from 1989 to 2006. The preoperative and postoperative visual acuity and astigmatism levels as well as the cosmetic outcomes were measured. RESULTS: The mean age at surgery was 28 months (range, 6~70 months), and the mean follow-up period was 56 months (range, 18~168 months). The mean visual acuity at the last follow-up was 20/30. The mean preoperative and postoperative cylinder was -2.64D and -2.12D, respectively, in the affected eye (p=0.064); and -0.79D and -0.43D, respectively, in the fellow eye (p=0.149). There was a significant correlation between preoperative astigmatism and the final visual acuity in the involved eye. No opaque lesions were visible at a distance of 1 meter in 16 of the 29 eyes (55.2%), and there were no significant complications related to the surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Simple keratectomy of limbal dermoids can be a good surgical technique to get a cosmetically acceptable corneal clarity without complication.