Limbal transplantation for ocular surface reconstruction--a review.

Based on the new concept that the limbal epithelium contains the stem cell population for corneal epithelial cellular proliferation and differentiation, a surgical procedure, limbal transplantation, has been devised. This paper reviews the background information regarding how this procedure was originally developed and the encouraging clinical as well as experimental results of corneal surface reconstruction using this procedure. The clinical aspects are also discussed concerning the surgical indications, procedural details, expected results, and potential problems. We also include the recent results using a rabbit model to compare the efficacy of surface reconstruction between limbal transplantation and original conjunctival transplantation. We hope, through this up-to-date review, that our capacities to manage these and other ocular surface disorders will be enhanced by understanding the new important concept of the limbal stem cell.