UNASSIGNED: This report describes a new technique of deep anterior lamellar limbo-keratoplasty for the management of bilateral limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) with corneal scarring.
METHODS: A 45-year-old male presented with chronic sequelae of ocular chemical injury and had bilateral total LSCD with corneal scarring. The visual acuity (VA) in the right eye was counting fingers. A large diameter deep anterior lamellar limbo-keratoplasty (DAL-LK) was carried out and the donor cornea and limbus were sourced from a single tissue. The VA at the last visit, 2.5 years after the surgery was 20/80. A similar presentation was seen in a 31-year-old male with a VA of 20/320 in the right eye. He underwent a DAL-LK and 3 years after the procedure, the VA was 20/60. Both grafts remained clear with no episodes of rejection until the last follow up visit.
CONCLUSIONS: Limbal stem cell transplantation with keratoplasty or a keratoprosthesis is required to manage bilateral LSCD with stromal scarring. The former necessitates multiple interventions while the latter is associated with several globe threatening complications. DAL-LK was devised to overcome these disadvantages and offers a simple, single staged technique of simultaneously transplanting the corneal stroma with the limbal stem cells. As the host endothelium is preserved, there is no risk of rejection episodes.
CONCLUSIONS: DAL-LK can successfully restore stability of the ocular surface and visually rehabilitate cases with bilateral LSCD and stromal scarring. The procedure has stable long-term outcomes with a good safety profile.

UNASSIGNED: This case describes a novel technique combining a mini-conjunctival limbal autograft (CLAU) with a deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) in a case of chemical injury sequelae.
METHODS: A 19-year-old female presented with total limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) and a vascularized corneal scar in the visual axis of the left eye, 4 years following a chemical injury. In order to treat the LSCD and simultaneously visually rehabilitate the patient, a mini-CLAU with DALK was carried out. Two separate one clock-hour CLAUs were harvested from the right eye and secured in the left. The graft was clear in the initial postoperative period and maintained its clarity over 15 months of follow period with a visual acuity of 20/30 with scleral contact lenses. The mini-CLAUs sustained a stable and well epithelialized corneal surface during the same period.
UNASSIGNED: The use of the mini-CLAUs instead of the traditional CLAU circumvents the complication of an iatrogenic LSCD in the donor eye as the size of the donor grafts is smaller (1-2 clock hours versus 6-8 clock hours). Despite the smaller size, these grafts are efficacious in maintaining a well epithelialized corneal surface even in cases of total LSCD. The autologous nature of the graft defers the need for immunosuppression and its peripheral location facilitates ease of the surgical technique when combined with a keratoplasty.
CONCLUSIONS: This novel single-staged procedure is an effective technique to reestablish a stable ocular surface and to visually rehabilitate cases of chronic chemical injury with good long-term outcomes.