GUO Jing, ZHANG Haorun, WANG Rui, ZHAO Jingjing, FU Mengjun
Objective To evaluate the safety, refraction changes and tissue repair of stromal lenticule transplantation assisted by femtosecond laser.Methods Six New Zealand white rabbits underwent SMILE in left eyes after anesthesia, and underwent femtosecond laser-assisted autologous corneal stromal lenticule surgery in right eyes. We observed the ocular inflammation,anterior segment OCT, refractive status, Pentacam corneal topography and corneal confocal laser microscope 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months after the operation. After 3 months of observation, the rabbits were sacrificed, the eyeballs were removed, the rabbit corneas were separated, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and observed under an optical microscope.Results During the postoperative follow-up, the lenticule remained transparent and no rejection was seen. The central corneal thickness before lenticule implantation was (357.17±12.97) μm, it was (433.67±12.19) μm, (423.50±13.49) μm, (417.33±12.08) μm 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the operation. The spherical equivalent was (0.57±1.13)D before the surgery, and it was (-1.98±1.18)D, (-2.65±0.47)D, (-1.84±0.68)D 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the surgery. The anterior surface Km was (47.80±1.02) D before the surgery, and it was (53.85±0.99) D, (52.67±1.32)D, (52.53±0.96)D 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the surgery. The posterior surface Km was (-6.18±0.15)D before the surgery, and it was (-5.78±0.19)D and (- 5.73±0.20)D, (-5.50±0.14)D 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the surgery. After the overall comparison of the preoperative and postoperative central corneal thickness, spherical equivalent, anterior surface Km and posterior surface Km, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.001). The indexes of 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the surgery were significantly different from those before the surgery (P<0.05), but no significant changes of each index were seen among different time points after the surgery (P>0.05). After 3 months of follow-up, the lenticule interface can be observed in the anterior segment OCT examination, but the lenticule boundary gradually becomes blurred with time. At early postoperatively, high reflective particles can be seen at the lenticule interface by corneal confocal laser microscopy. Nerve fibers can be seen to grow into the lenticule at 1 month after the surgery. The morphology of corneal cells was close to normal at 2 months after the surgery, and the morphology and number of corneal cells were basically normal at 3 months after the surgery, with small branches of nerve fibers. HE staining showed that the corneal structure was intact, the transplanted lenticule was in place, and the front and back interface of the lenticule could be observed. The fibers are arranged neatly, distributed in parallel, and the structure is clear.Conclusion Autologous corneal stromal lenticule implantation is safe, predictable, and has potential clinical value. Corneal remodeling and changes in refraction after corneal implantation need to be observed for a longer period of time with more samples.