Conjunctival excision or lamellar scleral autograft in 38 Mooren's ulcers from Sierra Leone

Ulcus rodens corneae (Mooren's ulcer) was studied in 30 patients with 38 corneal ulcers. Although the clinical picture resembled Mooren's description, the West African type of ulcus rodens is different in that it has a higher prevalence, a tendency towards perforation, is most frequent in the age group 20-40 years, and is often associated with ankylostomiasis. Conjunctival excision with thermocoagulation gave some relief at the site of the ulcers, but recurrences at other places occurred in at least 52% of cases. Six eyes with a progressive iris prolapse and a flat anterior chamber were reconstructed with lamellar scleral autografts in the absence of donor corneas.