Clinical experience with N-butyl cyanoacrylate (Nexacryl) tissue adhesive

To investigate the indications, outcomes, and complications of N-butyl cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive for ocular clinical use. This tissue adhesive is under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration.

N-butyl cyanoacrylate was used as an investigational device on 44 patients at the authors' institution over a 2-year period. The charts of these patients were reviewed.

The indications for glue application included corneal perforation (19 eyes), descemetoceles (9 eyes), leaking filtering blebs (6 eyes), stromal thinning (5 eyes), wound leaks (4 eyes), and exposure keratopathy (1 eye). A bandage contact lens was used over the dried tissue adhesive in 38 of the 44 eyes. Length of glue adherence ranged from 1 to 660 days (mean, 72 days). Outcome was penetrating keratoplasty (19 eyes), no further intervention (14 eyes), enucleation (4 eyes), surgical revision of a filter (2 eyes), scleral patch graft (1 eye), conjunctival transplant (1 eye), failed tarsorrhaphy (1 eye), suturing of wound (1 eye), and a lamellar graft (1 eye). Vision improved in 52% (23/44) of eyes.

This tissue adhesive may soon be available to all ophthalmologists, and the authors' experience demonstrates that it is an effective method of temporary or permanent closure of an impending or frank perforation.