With the growing number of patients receiving refractive lenticule extraction, such as small incision refractive lenticule extraction (SMILE), for the correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism, the number of discarded corneal stromal lenticules is expected to increase. Nonetheless, corneal lenticules extracted during SMILE offer an opportunity to utilize this surplus tissue either for autologous future re-implantation or allogeneic donor implantation. For instance, former clinical study demonstrated lenticule implantation as a strategy of corneal patch grafting for the management of various ophthalmological conditions including corneal microperforation and presbyopia. Therefore, establishing a lenticule bank to collect, process, cryopreserve, and distribute the lenticules for future therapeutic needs could be advantageous.
On 25th August, 2021, a webinar titled “Corneal Lenticule Storage and Implantation: Techniques and Potential Applications” was organized. The online lecture was sponsored by the Cordlife Group, a stem cell banking and diagnostics service provider in the region. In the lecture, Prof. Jodhbir Mehta of the Singapore Eye Research Institute and Dr Tang Kin Fai shared their expertise on technology to process and cryopreserve the extracted lenticules. The speakers also addressed the potential applications of corneal lenticule implantation.
Prof. Mehta outlined the techniques in processing of extracted corneal lenticules
Lenticule implantation clinical trials on humans
