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In vivo confocal microscopy of human cornea covered with human amniotic membrane

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Abstract

Purpose

Amniotic membrane transplantation has been widely performed to reconstruct the surface of the eye and treat chemical burns or epithelial defects. However, we have difficulty observing the cornea through the opaque transplanted amniotic membrane by slit-lamp biomicroscopy. We investigated the use of confocal microscopy for observation of human corneas covered with amniotic membrane.

Methods

Human amniotic membrane was placed onto the normal corneas of five volunteers aged 22–24 years. Then, all layers of the covered corneas were observed by in vivo confocal microscopy.

Results

Confocal microscopy displayed the epithelium, basement membrane, and stroma of the amniotic membrane. It also displayed the corneal epithelium. Furthermore, corneal stromal keratocytes and the corneal endothelium were clearly observed through the amniotic membrane by confocal microscopy.

Conclusions

We demonstrated that in vivo confocal microscopy enabled us to observe all layers of corneas covered with amniotic membrane in normal human eyes. Our findings suggest that confocal microscopy may have advantages for clinical examination of the ocular surface, including all layers of the cornea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Tatsuya Mimura, Tomohiko Usui, Norihiko Honda, Fumiyuki Araki & Shiro Amano

  2. Department of Corneal Tissue Regeneration, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Satoru Yamagami

Authors
  1. Tatsuya Mimura
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  2. Satoru Yamagami
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  3. Tomohiko Usui
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  4. Norihiko Honda
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  5. Fumiyuki Araki
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  6. Shiro Amano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tatsuya Mimura.

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Cite this article

Mimura, T., Yamagami, S., Usui, T. et al. In vivo confocal microscopy of human cornea covered with human amniotic membrane. Jpn J Ophthalmol 52, 493–496 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-008-0578-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-008-0578-y

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