Conjunctival grafting for ocular surface disease

The procedure of transplanting healthy conjunctiva onto eyes with damaged ocular surface epithelium was first described by Thoft in 1977. Today, conjunctival autografting is widely used in pterygium surgery and has been shown to be both safe and effective in reducing pterygium recurrence. Several randomized, controlled, clinical trials have been reported in the literature, and conjunctival autografting is now recognized to have an efficacy equal to that of such adjunct therapies as beta-irradiation and mitomycin C, and yet it is safer than these treatments. Recent modifications of the conjunctival autograft include the conjunctival rotation autograft and the inferior conjunctival transposition flap, both of which have been reported to be associated with low rates of recurrence. With the discovery of the role of limbal stem cells in the maintenance and stability of the corneal surface, recent forms of ocular surface transplantation that have supplanted Thoft's conjunctival transplantation procedure include limbal autograft transplantation and limbal allograft transplantation. In addition, the adjunct use of human amniotic membrane in these ocular surface transplantation procedures has improved success and survival rates in the management of ocular surface disease, which still presents significant challenges to clinicians today.