Indian Journal of Veterinary Surgery

Twelve New Zealand white rabbits of either sex, divided into two groups (n=6) were used to evaluate the corneal wound healing potential of corneal transplantation with and without mesenchymal stem cells. A 5 mm diameter, partial thickness corneal wound was created in each animal. In group I, wounds were treated with corneal graft, ‘fitted’ into the corneal wound, and 0.5 mm larger in length and width to compensate for graft shrinkage. In group II, corneal transplant was followed by sub-conjunctival injection of mesenchymal stem cells (5 × 10⁶ cells/mL). The wounds were evaluated on the basis of clinical, macroscopical, histopathological, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies and photographic evaluation. The results suggested an early wound healing with clear cornea in animals of group II.