COMPARISON BETWEEN AMNIOTIC MEMBRANE CONTACT LENS AND TEMPORARY AMNIOTIC MEMBRANE TRANSPLANTATION

The study was designed to compare the clinical usefulness of amniotic membrane contact lens(AMCL) and temporary amniotic membrane transplantation(TAMT) in patients with corneal epithelial defects.

Subjects were 32 patients (32 eyes) with AMCL and 20 patients (20 eyes) with TAMT in Dong-A University from November 2019 to July 2022.

Amniotic membrane contact lens (applied for 1 week) or temporary amniotic membrane transplantation (applied for 2 weeks) was randomly applied to patients who diagnosed corneal epithelial defects. And the prospective analysis was done. Before and after the application, best corrected visual acuity, corneal sense, tear break up time and corneal opacity were estimated. And during the follow-up period, treatment success rate, recurrence, and other complications were analyzed

In the cases of AMCL, there were significant differences in best corrected visual acuity, corneal sense, tear break up time, corneal opacity before and after application(p-value<0.05). In the cases of TAMT, there were significant differences in best corrected visual acuity, corneal sense, tear break up time, corneal opacity before and after application (p-value<0.05). When comparing the rate of change before and after AMCL and TAMT, there were no significant differences in best corrected visual acuity, corneal sense, tear break up time, corneal opacity (p-value>0.05).

In patients with corneal epithelial defects, amniotic membrane contact lens was an effective procedure that can be performed on an outpatient basis, and there were no significant differences in clinical outcomes compared with TAMT. AMCL has advantages in time saving, convenience and cost.