Anterior stromal puncture in the treatment of bullous keratopathy - Six-month follow-up

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of anterior stromal puncture to treat patients with symptomatic bullous keratopathy. Methods. Fourteen patients with bullous keratopathy who had decreased vision and were or were not awaiting penetrating keratoplasty were evaluated before and 1, 4, 12, and 24 weeks after anterior stromal punctures with a 25-gauge needle. The p atients were questioned about pain intensity, foreign-body sensation, and p hotophobia. Biomicroscopy, esthesiometry, and pachymetry results were evalu ated. The results before and after the punctures were compared using the Mc Nemar test, Friedman test, and multiple comparison tests. Results. The comp arisons among before and 1, 4, and 12 weeks after the anterior stromal punc ture of pain (p = 0.00000556), photophobia (p = 0.0252), foreign-body sensa tion (p = 0.0000743), and esthesiometry (p = 0.0243) showed significant sta tistical differences in terms of decreasing symptoms and corneal sensitivit y. The average pachymetry did not show statistical difference among before and 1, 4, 12, and 24 weeks after the procedure (p = 0.956). We did not find important differences in terms of corneal neovascularization. Conclusion. Anterior stromal puncture is an effective, simple, and low-cost alternative for treating patients with symptomatic bullous keratopathy.