The surgical treatment of herpetic keratitis.

At present, corneal transplantation is the only definitive means of controlling or terminating recurrent or chronic herpetic keratitis. Of 48 keratoplastic operations for various forms of corneal herpes, 16 in quiescent cases and 32 in cases of active keratitis, all but three brought about improvement. Recurrence of keratitis in the graft is particularly likely if the visible lesion is not excised completely and a portion of the graft border lies in contact with diseased tissue. The mode of action of corneal transplantation in improving herpetic keratitis is not clear but several possibilities have been suggested. At least in chronic stromal herpes the removal of diseased and necrotic tissue appears to be a very important factor.