CASE REPORT: Outcomes of mitomycin C intravascular chemoembolization (MICE) in refractory corneal neovascularization after failed keratoplasty

Abstract

Corneal neovascularization is a determinant of corneal graft survival and preservation of immune privilege after keratoplasty. We report the outcomes in 2 patients with failed corneal grafts who underwent mitomycin C (MMC) intravascular chemoembolization (MICE) in the affected eye. A 30-year-old woman with failed penetrating keratoplasty (PK) in the right eye was started on prednisolone acetate eyedrops. Graft sutures were removed, and bevacizumab was injected subconjunctivally. The eye remained intermittently painful, and MICE was performed on the main feeding vessel, with regression of the vessels apparent within the first day following the procedure. The second case was a 40-year-old man who had a history of repaired penetrating injury in the left eye followed by failed PK. Prednisolone acetate eyedrops were initiated, and corneal sutures were removed. The patient failed to improve with three subconjunctival injections of bevacizumab. MICE was performed, but in this case neovascularization did not regress until 20 weeks post-procedure. MMC is thought to inhibit vascular endothelial cell proliferation, but its use in corneal injection is debated. In these cases, MICE was not associated with any concerning adverse events.