Seroma under the amniotic membrane following simple limbal epithelial transplantation

A woman in her 50s underwent simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET) in the left eye for chemical injury with total limbal stem cell deficiency. A seroma, a hitherto unreported complication of the procedure was noted on the 10th postoperative day. It was associated with an accumulation of inflammatory cells and exudates in the inferior part of the amniotic membrane resembling a hypopyon. After careful exclusion of infectious keratitis on clinical examination, the bandage contact lens was removed and the seroma was drained with a 26G hypodermic needle. A small seroma reappeared over the central cornea 2 weeks later but no donor limbal tissue was seen to be detached from the corneal surface. The patient was managed conservatively. By the third postoperative month, the amniotic membrane disintegrated and the patient achieved an epithelised corneal surface with the relative clearing of the corneal stroma.