Use of horse pericardium preserved in glycerin as corneal graft in dogs. Experimental study

Abstract

Repair of the cornea is a challenge to several researches. Cornea lesions have been treated by many different methods. The purpose of this paper was to study the use of horse preserved pericardium to repair dog cornea. Fifteen mixed breed dogs, male and female, 8 to 10 kg of body weight were used. After pre-surgical procedures, under general anesthesia, a fill-thickness piece of cornea of 5 x 4 mm was excised. A fragment of the same size of horse pericardium preserved in glycerin was sutured with
7-0 prolen in single suture. Clinical examination revealed blefarospasm, cloudy cornea and flare that disappeared in two weeks. In the 9th day post-surgery, superficial vascularization and granulation tissue were observed over the graft and the suture. Opacity of the graft persisted until the end of observation period, when a very mild transparence was noted. Fluorescein stain was retained until the 36th day. Anterior chamber was deep all over the experimental period and pupils were symetrical. IOP
was initially low but raised to normal values. Acute inflammatory reaction and fibrosis could be seen hitologically. The graft was epithelized on the 36th day. On the 70th day, mild chronic inflammation and endothelization were observed and the site of the graft looked like a “sandwich” (epithelium - stroma - implant - stroma - epithelium).