Diagnosis of limbal stem cells deficiency in eyes with total vascular bellams by impression cytology

The main causes of limbal stem cells deficiency (LSCD) in eyes with vascular leucorrhoea are burns, trauma, chronic inflammation, scarring processes, irregularities in the moisture of the ocular surface, excessive surgical activity in the limbal zone, etc. The answer to the question about the phenotype of the epithelium covering the corneal leucorrhoea can be given by the method of impression cytology. Aim: To assess the information content of the method of impression cytology in the diagnosis of LSCD in eyes with vascular corneal leucorrhoea. Materials and methods: The study included 35 patients (35 eyes) aged 25 to 80 years with total vascular corneal leucorrhoea. The reasons for the formation of vascular leucorrhoea in the eyes were: endothelial-epithelial dystrophy in stage IV (n = 10); recurrent metaherpetic keratitis (n = 5); recurrence of thorns after traditional optical penetrating keratoplasty (n = 10); severe chemical burns (n = 10). An improved method of impression cytology was used to determine the phenotype of the surface epithelium of the leucorrhoea.