Jornal de Oftalmologia Clínica e Experimental
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Stem Cell Therapy in Ocular Surface Disorders, Our Experience

Gunasagar Das, Dash PNM

Purpose: Ocular surface disorders due to various causes heal up if the limbal stem cells are adequate and healthy in case of deficiency disorders manifest. To evaluate stem cell therapy in various ocular surface disorders.

Materials and methods: Study of patients with ocular surface disorders undergoing stem cell therapy in tertiary care hospitals from 2006 to 2021.

Results: Forty cases of ocular surface disorders underwent stem cell therapy from various sources. Amniotic membrane transplantation was done in Stevens Johnson syndrome (4 cases). Ocular surface stability improved in all cases with visual improvement in a case of partial stem cell deficiency from counting fingers at 2 meters to 6/36 at the end of one year. Amniotic membrane transplantation and autologous serum instillation in shield corneal ulcer with dry eye syndrome (4 cases) improved the ocular surface stability and vision from counting fingers at two meters to 6/24. Autologous circumferential barrage fashioned limbal stem cell transplantation in progressive pterygium (26 cases) and ocular surface limbal dysplasia (1 case) was most successful. Probably this procedure supplemented new stem cells in the area of partial deficiency which prevented further conjunctivalization. But homologous limbal stem cell transplantation in a case of bilateral calcareous degeneration did not work well. Surface instillation of cord blood in non-healing corneal ulcer (4 cases) probably supplemented embryonic stem cells and hastened healing.

Conclusion: Stem cell therapy from various sources in ocular surface disorders has a promising future.