A comparison between cultivated and conventional limbal stem cell transplantation for Stevens-Johnson syndrome

To compare the resolution of inflammation and long-term results of cultivated and conventional limbal stem cell transplantation (LSCT) in a patient with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS).

Interventional case report.

A 32-year-old man with SJS and bilateral total limbal stem cell deficiency underwent cultivated LSCT in the right eye, followed by conventional LSCT in the left eye three weeks later. The postoperative medication included dexamethasone 0.1% and ofloxacin 0.3% eyedrops and a tapering dose of systemic corticosteroid, cyclosporine, and cyclophosphamide. Tear samples were collected and analyzed for interleukin (IL) 8 levels.

Complete corneal epithelialization was achieved 48 hours after cultivated LSCT, compared with three weeks after conventional LSCT. Ocular inflammation and IL-8 levels decreased more rapidly in the eye with cultivated LSCT. Four years after surgery, more severe corneal scarring and opacification were noted in the conventional LSCT eye.

Cultivated LSCT resulted in a better clinical result and vision, with less stromal scarring compared with conventional LSCT.