Abstract
Ocular chemical burns are common and serious ocular emergencies that require immediate and intensive evaluation and care. The victims of such incidents are usually young, and therefore loss of vision and disfigurement could dramatically affect their lives. The clinical course can be divided into immediate, acute, early, and late reparative phases. The degree of limbal, corneal, and conjunctival involvement at the time of injury is critically associated with prognosis. The treatment starts with simple but vision saving steps and is continued with complicated surgical procedures later in the course of the disease. The goal of treatment is to restore the normal ocular surface anatomy and function. Limbal stem cell transplantation, amniotic membrane transplantation, and ultimately keratoprosthesis may be indicated depending on the patients' needs.
Highlights
A chemical ocular burn usually occurs when a corrosive substance is accidentally introduced to the eye and/or periocular tissues
Extensive damage to the limbus leads to limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) which may result in failure of normal corneal epithelial healing, neovascularization, and conjunctivalization
The clinical course of ocular chemical injury can be divided into immediate, acute, early reparative (8–20 days), and late reparative phases [33]
Summary
A chemical ocular burn usually occurs when a corrosive substance is accidentally introduced to the eye and/or periocular tissues. Chemical burn is considered a true ocular emergency and requires immediate and intensive evaluation and care. This type of injury is most common among men 20 to 40 years of age that typically work in industrial chemical laboratories or factories [1]. Given their younger age, the long-term disabilities that follow ocular burns could dramatically affect the patients’ lives. The goal of treatment is to minimize further damage to ocular surface and restore a normal ocular surface anatomy and visual function
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