Accelerated Restoration of Ocular Surface Health in Dry Eye Disease by Self-Retained Cryopreserved Amniotic Membrane

PurposeTo evaluate the clinical efficacy of self-retained cryopreserved amniotic membrane in treating dry eye disease.MethodsRetrospective review of 10 patients treated with self-retained cryopreserved amniotic membrane (PROKERA® Slim [PKS], Bio-Tissue, Miami, FL) for moderate-to-severe dry eye refractory to conventional maximal medical treatments. Patients' symptoms, use of medications, conjunctival inflammation, corneal staining, and visual acuity were compared before and after treatment.ResultsPKS was placed in 15 eyes of the 10 patients for 4.9 ± 1.5 days. All patients experienced symptomatic relief for a period of 4.2 ± 4.7 months (P<.001). Such improvement was accompanied by reduction of OSDI scores (P<.001), use of topical medications (P<.001), conjunctival hyperemia (P<.001), corneal staining (P<.001), and improvement of the visual acuity (P=.06). Linear regression analysis estimated that the optimal duration of PKS placement was 5 days to achieve an average symptom-free duration of 4 months in patients with dry eye. Surprisingly, PKS placement also generated improvement in the contralateral eyes.ConclusionThis pilot study suggests that self-retained cryopreserved amniotic membrane via PKS can be used to treat moderate dry eye diseases and warrants further prospective controlled studies.