Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The 3-year outcomes of corneal tattooing for severely disfigured corneas

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Ophthalmology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

To evaluate the efficacy of corneal tattooing for various clinical applications.

Methods

The medical charts of 62 eyes of 62 patients who underwent corneal tattooing between March 2016 and August 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. The causes of opacity and various methods of corneal tattooing were analyzed.

Results

Among our 62 patients, 38 were males and 24 were females. Average age was 48.47 ± 15.30 (range, 12–74) years old. The mean follow-up period was 40.19 ± 2.34 (range, 36–43) months. The most common causes of corneal opacity were ocular trauma (33 eyes, 53.2%), prior retinal surgery (9 eyes, 14.5%), congenital etiologies (8 eyes, 12.9%) and measles (5 eyes, 8.0%). The most common associated ocular findings were strabismus (23 eyes, 37.0%), phthisis bulbi (17 eyes, 27.4%) and band keratopathy (13 eyes, 20.9%). Cosmetic outcomes improved without serious complications in all cases.

Conclusions

Corneal tattooing is a viable option with an expanding set of indications, such as discolored previous corneal tattoos, white pupil due to inoperable cataract with clear cornea and dense corneal opacities in blind eyes. Elective corneal tattooing seems to be a viable and convenient method to improve cosmesis with minimal complications and high patient satisfaction.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The patient data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Abbreviations

LP:

Light perception

NLP:

No light perception

BCVA:

Best corrected visual acuity

References

  1. George DK, Ide Takeshi, Galor Anat (2009) Femtosecond-assisted anterior lamellar corneal staining-tattooing in a blind eye with leukocorea. Cornea 28:211–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Mannis MJ, Eghbali K, Schwab IR (1999) Keratopigmentation: a review of corneal tattooing. Cornea 18:633–637

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. der Velden Van, Samderubun EM, Kok JH (1994) Dermatography as a modern treatment for coloring leucoma corneae. Cornea 13:349–353

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ahn SJ, Han YK, Kwon JW (2009) A case of superficial corneal tattooing for glare after trabeculectomy. Can J Ophthalmol 44:e63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Reed JW (1994) Corneal tattooing to reduce glare in cases of traumatic iris loss. Cornea 13:401–405

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Sekundo W, Seifert P, Seitz B, Loeffler KU (1999) Longterm ultrastructural changes in human corneas after tattooing with non-metallic substances. Br J Ophthalmol 83:219–224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Laria C, Alió JL, Piñero DN (2010) Intrastromal corneal tattooing as treatment in a case of intractable strabismic diplopia (double binocular vision). Binocul Vis Strabismus Q 25:238–242

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Jo DH, Han YK, Kwon JW (2011) Conjunctival tattooing after evisceration for cosmesis. Can J Ophthalmol 46(2):204–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Cha DM, Shin KH, Kim KH (2013) Simple keratectomy and corneal tattooing for limbal dermoids: results of a 3-year study. Int J Ophthalmol 6:463–466

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Kim C, Kim KH, Han YK (2011) Five-year results of corneal tattooing for cosmetic repair in disfigured eyes. Cornea 30:1135–1139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Jeong Jinho, Song Young-Jin, Jung Seung-Il (2015) New surgical approach for limbal dermoids in children: simple excision, corneal tattooing, and sutureless limboconjunctival autograft. Cornea 34:720–723

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Paik JS, Lee YK, Doh SH (2014) A patient with combined corneal and ingrowing conjunctival tissue tattooing by micropigmentation method. J Craniofac Surg 25(2):e170–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Park JH, Um TW, Kim MJ (2015) A new multiple noncontinuous puncture(pointage) technique for corneal tattooing. Int J Ophthalmol 8:928–932

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Lin HC, Wang YL, Chen GW (2016) Corneal tattooing and anterior stromal puncture for treating symptomatic bullous keratopathy. Cornea 35:355–357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Kim JH, Lee D, Hahn TW (2009) New surgical strategy for corneal tattooing using a femtosecond laser. Cornea 28:80–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kreidstein ML, Giguere D, Freiberg A (1997) MRI interaction with tattoo pigments: case report, pathophysiology, and management. Plast Reconstr Surg 99:1717–1720

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Alio JL, Rodriguez AE, Bahrawy ME (2016) Keratopigmentation to change the apparent color of the human eye: a novel indication for corneal tattooing. Cornea 35:431–437

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Not applicable.

Funding

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Jeju National University College of Medicine, Jeju, Korea

    Jinho Jeong

  2. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA

    Jonathan D. Fay, Jimmy K. Lee & Roy S. Chuck

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, Myongji Hospital, Hanyang University College of Medicine, 55 Hwasu-Ro 14, Deokyang-Gu, Goyang-Si, Gyeonggi-Do, 10475, Korea

    Ji-Won Kwon

Authors
  1. Jinho Jeong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jonathan D. Fay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jimmy K. Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Roy S. Chuck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ji-Won Kwon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

JJ made design for the study, JDF carried out statistical analysis, JKL revised the manuscript, RSC participated in its design and coordination and helped to draft the manuscript, and JWK participated in its design and coordination and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ji-Won Kwon.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors have no other proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article. No conflicting relationship exists for any author.

Consent for publication

Patients provided written informed consent after being given a detailed explanation of the study. We confirmed that patients agreed to data publication in a journal.

Ethical approval

The study protocol was in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Myongji Hospital, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea (MIRB 2018-04-003-001). Additionally, written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jeong, J., Fay, J.D., Lee, J.K. et al. The 3-year outcomes of corneal tattooing for severely disfigured corneas. Int Ophthalmol 40, 1773–1779 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-020-01346-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-020-01346-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation