Clinical experience with a mobile ocular perfusion pump

R. A. Ralph, M. G. Doane and C. H. Dohlman

The continuous delivery in fluids to the ocular surfaces of 12 patients, for a collective total of 1,500 days, was achieved by means of a mobile perfusion pump. One patient used this device intermittently for a total of 21/2 years. Severe dry-eye symptoms were ameliorated in each patient by the constant perfusion. In various situations, the following perfusion fluids have been tried: commercial balanced salt solution, commercial artificial tear solutions, acetylcysteine, and autologous and homologous serum and plasma. In spite of disadvantages related to its size and weight, the pump seems to be of considerable value, especially following severe chemical burns and after keratoplasty or reconstruction of the lids and fornices in the severely dry eye.