Histopathological findings of corneal buttons removed during therapeutic keratoplasty

Abstract EN

Corneal ulcers are major problems in our country, the patients usually seek ' medical advice late, so most of these ulcers usually resist medical treatment arid therapeutic keratoplasty may be the only procedure to preserve the eye bpth^ anatomically andfunctionally.

In this study we examined 30 corneal buttons removed by therapeutic keratoplasty from patients suffering from corneal ulcers resistant to medical therapy.

Examination was done using light microscopy for sections stainedwith H&E, PAS and silver stains.

Bacterial infection was suspected in 43.3% of the specimens, viral aetiology in 33.3%, and Acanthamoeba in (13.4%).

Three buttons (10%) proved to be of fungal aetiology (as demonstrated by PAS stain).

This study indicates the importance of histopathologic examination of corneal .

buttons in patients undergoing therapeutic keratoplasty for resistant corneal ulcers and this may help the physician to know the aetiology of these ulcers and to select the ideal post operative antimicrobial therapy.