The effects of topical 2% cyclosporine A on the cornea of dogs subjected to experimental lamellar keratoplasty with an equine pericardial graft were evaluated. Ten dogs were grouped to be evaluated 3, 7, 15, 30 and 60 days after surgery. Animals received bilateral grafts followed by the application of a 2% cyclosporine A ointment on the left eye (treated eye) and the ointment base on the right eye (control eye) twice a day. The ophthalmic evaluation showed profound bilateral blepharospasm, photophobia and a mucous secretion until the 7th day after surgery; corneal vascularization starting in the limbus was observed as early as the 3rd day in both eyes; opacification and vascularization were more intense in the treated cornea on days 15 and 30 after surgery. Vascularization was still evident on the 60th day, and looked similar in treated eyes and control eyes. The histologic evaluation showed a complete bilateral reepithelization and corneal vascularization three days after the surgery; intense vascularization in both eyes on days 15 and 30, that was much more pronounced in the treated cornea; and a bilateral predominance of polymorphonuclear cells until day 15, and mononuclear cells on day 30. Intact epithelium and stroma with new vessels, as well as graft absorption, in both eyes, were seen on the 60th day. The lamellar keratoplasty with equine pericardial graft was an effective model to study the inflammatory kinetics and corneal vascularization phenomenon. In this study, cyclosporine A did not inhibit corneal vascularization and it did not interfere in the corneal cicatricial process.
cyclosporine; cornea; pericardium; vascularization; keratoplasty; dogs
