An overview of the development of artificial corneas with porous skirts and the use of PHEMA for such an application

An overview of the efforts to develop functional polymeric artificial corne as (keratoprostheses) by incorporating a porous skirt is presented. The dev elopment of such a device by the author's group using poly(2-hydroxyethyl m ethacrylate) (PHEMA) hydrogels, as a combination of their homogeneous and h eterogeneous states, and the rationale of this choice are also discussed. T he latest results of the clinical trials with the PHEMA keratoprosthesis in human patients indicate a lower risk of the complications traditionally as sociated with the implantation of artificial corneas. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.