Posterior lamellar keratoplasty for treatment of deep stromal absesses in nine horses.

This study investigates the use of posterior lamellar keratoplasty as a surgical treatment for deep corneal stromal abscesses in horses, showing that this approach results in shorter surgery and healing times, with comparable scar formation to a more invasive procedure.

Objective and Methodology

The objective of this research was to evaluate the use of a surgical procedure, posterior lamellar keratoplasty, for treating deep corneal stromal abscesses in horses. The abscesses were infections located in the posterior one-third of the cornea, the outermost layer of the horse’s eye. The patient group consisted of nine horses of various breeds and ages, all of whom had been unsuccessfully treated with medical therapy alone prior to surgery.

• The researchers carried out a retrospective study, reviewing the medical records of these nine horses.
• Corneal abscess culture and histopathology, the examination of tissues at a microscopic level, were conducted in eight of the nine horses to identify the possible infectious agent.

Results

Findings from the study showed that:

• The corneal abscess cultures were positive for an infection in 50% of the cases, while the histopathology was positive in 62.5% of cases, indicating an infectious cause.
• The posterior lamellar keratoplasty treatment resulted in a relatively short surgical time, with an average of 71 minutes per surgery.
• The average healing time for the horses post-surgery was around 24 days, which is relatively short for such a procedure.
• Visual outcome was positive in eight out of the nine cases, making this procedure a promising solution for treating deep corneal stromal abscesses in horses.

Conclusion

The results of the study suggest that posterior lamellar keratoplasty is a promising surgical treatment for deep corneal stromal abscesses in horses. This procedure showed shorter surgical and healing times compared to the full-thickness penetrating keratoplasty procedure, which is typically more invasive. Moreover, scar formation after this procedure was comparable to that after the more invasive penetrating keratoplasty, suggesting that this less invasive operation may be a preferable alternative for treatment of this condition in horses.