The effect of tarsorrhaphy on normal healing of corneal epithelial defects in a rabbit model.

The presumed benefits of occlusive patching are patient comfort and enhancement of corneal healing. However, there is little experimental evidence to document a beneficial effect of eyelid occlusion on corneal healing. We produced corneal abrasions by mechanical debridement within a 4 mm trephine-marked area on 1 eye each of 23 New Zealand albino rabbits. Homatropine 5% solution and erythromycin ointment were instilled. Then we divided the animals into three groups. The abraded eyes of the first group (7 rabbits) were sutured shut by a temporary tarsorrhaphy. The eyes of the second group (7 rabbits) were left open until 12 h postinjury, when they were sutured shut in a similar fashion. The abraded eyes of the control group (9 rabbits) were left open for the entire observation period. We monitored fluorescein staining patterns of the epithelial defects photographically at a set focal length at 12-h intervals. By 48 h, corneal staining had resolved in 87% of eyes. We performed computerized planimetry on the photographs of wound size for each time point. There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of healing of corneal abrasions in the occluded versus of the unoccluded eyes.