Tianjin Eye Hospital

Reparto di malattie della cornea

The Ocular Surface and Corneal Disease specialty of Tianjin Eye Hospital was established in the late 1970s and is one of the earlier hospitals in China to carry out clinical and basic research on corneal diseases. It has nationally renowned experts in corneal disease diagnosis and treatment and advanced equipment. After decades of continuous development, the Ocular Surface and Corneal Disease Department has become a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment platform integrating medical care, research, and teaching, consisting of a corneal disease unit, a dry eye center, and ocular surface disease services. It has extensive experience in corneal transplantation, ocular surface reconstruction, and comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of dry eye, with some areas reaching a leading level in China. For more than 40 years, this specialty has continued to develop and formed a sound academic echelon. It currently has 3 chief physicians, 1 associate chief physician, 2 attending physicians, and 1 re-employed chief physician. There is 1 doctoral supervisor and 1 master's supervisor; it has trained doctoral and master's graduates, trained ophthalmologists from all over China, and received multiple national and Tianjin awards and funding support. Department Projects This specialty is dedicated to the treatment of various ocular surface diseases and corneal diseases, including various corneal leukomas, infectious keratitis, corneal dystrophies, corneal degenerations, and immune-related keratoconjunctival inflammation. It has extensive clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of various age-related diseases, such as cataracts and iritis, associated with corneal diseases. Our hospital has a comprehensive range of ocular surface examinations. Laser confocal microscopy, a comprehensive anterior segment analyzer, and anterior segment OCT examinations can perform noninvasive examinations for various corneal and ocular surface diseases, and can provide etiological diagnosis of various infectious corneal diseases (bacteria, fungi, and Acanthamoeba), strengthening the definitive diagnosis of difficult and rare corneal diseases and the formulation of treatment plans. Dry Eye Treatment Currently available treatments include: (1) thermal pulsation treatment for meibomian gland dysfunction. This is a noninvasive treatment suitable for adult patients with meibomian gland dysfunction, providing a new and effective physical treatment for MGD; it is currently one of the newer treatments for dry eye; (2) meibomian gland unclogging combined with meibomian gland warm compress and fumigation treatment, a basic method of physical treatment for dry eye; (3) intense pulsed light treatment of the meibomian glands (OPT); anti-inflammation and mite removal improve the tear film, achieving the goal of noninvasive treatment of dry eye; (4) absorbable punctal plugs: symptoms can be reduced and the condition alleviated by preserving physiological tears and artificial tears. Punctal plugs are characterized by a high success rate, reversibility, and a low complication rate. Comprehensive and Personalized Treatment of Keratoconus Our hospital has introduced corneal collagen cross-linking technology. For patients with early- to mid-stage keratoconus, corneal cross-linking is used to control disease progression. For patients requiring further visual improvement, RGP lenses are fitted by the Optometry Center after corneal cross-linking to improve vision, thereby avoiding corneal transplantation and achieving good visual outcomes, improving the quality of life and study of many patients with keratoconus. For patients in the advanced stage, deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty is used, with many advantages including fast postoperative recovery and a low rejection rate. For patients in the scar stage, deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty or penetrating keratoplasty is performed after thorough evaluation. This provides a “one-stop” solution to keratoconus, relieving the suffering of many patients with keratoconus and bringing them light. Corneal Transplantation Our hospital performs big-bubble-assisted deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty, which has many advantages, including fast postoperative recovery, a short medication period, and a low rejection rate. Advanced surgical procedures such as corneal endothelial transplantation are also performed, effectively improving postoperative visual acuity and significantly reducing the occurrence of corneal transplant rejection, thereby improving the quality of life of many patients with corneal endothelial disease caused by different etiologies. Penetrating keratoplasty combined with cataract surgery is performed, bringing good news to patients with corneal disease. Other special surgeries include medication and surgical treatment of infectious corneal ulcers, reconstructive surgery for ocular surface burns, scleral defect repair, surgery for recurrent pterygium, vision-restoring procedures for severe eyelid or lacrimal dysfunction, and surgical treatment of corneal dermoid tumors. Pterygium Pterygium, known colloquially as “extra flesh,” is a common and frequently occurring ophthalmic disease. Our department uses pterygium excision combined with limbal stem cell transplantation, greatly reducing the recurrence rate. Combined use of a corneal bandage lens reduces postoperative pain and accelerates postoperative recovery, providing every patient with a good treatment experience. Ocular Surface Masses Ocular surface masses are diverse and include conjunctival masses and eyelid masses. Our department can use preoperative medications in combination with amniotic membrane transplantation and other techniques to manage various complex ocular surface masses. Intraocular Diseases Related to Corneal Disease and Age-Related Eye Diseases We have extensive treatment experience with complex eye diseases accompanied by corneal disease, including cataracts, glaucoma, and iritis, as well as some age-related eye diseases. Tianjin Eye Bank The Tianjin Eye Bank is located at Tianjin Eye Hospital and was established in 2002; it is fully equipped. It is mainly responsible for publicizing corneal donation, organizing procurement, preservation, and quality evaluation, and providing a timely and reliable source of corneal tissue for corneal transplantation in clinical practice, thereby improving the success rate of corneal transplantation. It has an eye tissue bank, corneal transplant ward, eye bank office, and other facilities, and currently has 1 full-time staff member and 5 part-time staff members. Under the cooperative guidance of the Tianjin Red Cross, it can provide fresh-preserved and dry-preserved corneas for clinical use each year, as well as urgently needed tissue materials such as sclera and amniotic membrane. Despite the current severe shortage of donor corneas, our hospital can still perform corneal transplantation for patients and provide them with high-quality, safe donor materials, bringing light to many corneal-blind patients.