Intraocular Epithelial Ingrowth after Traumatic and Surgical Corneal Injuries

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Complications
• Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

• Intraocular epithelial ingrowth is a rare but severe complication following eye surgery or trauma.
• Accurate diagnosis is critical but challenging, often requiring advanced imaging techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) for intraocular epithelial ingrowth.
• To compare AS-OCT findings with clinical and histopathological data.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 51 patients with suspected epithelial invasion (2017-2022).
• Clinical data, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry (cytokeratin 3 and 13) were analyzed.
• AS-OCT effectiveness was statistically evaluated.

Main Results:

• Histological confirmation of epithelial ingrowth in 31% of cases; cystic form was most common (82%).
• Conjunctival origin identified in 82% of infiltrated cells.
• AS-OCT demonstrated 78% sensitivity but only 26% specificity for detecting epithelial invasion.

Conclusions:

• Epithelial ingrowth exhibits diverse clinical presentations.
• While AS-OCT shows potential, its low specificity necessitates further validation to prevent misdiagnosis.
• Improved diagnostic strategies are needed for this serious ocular complication.