Corneal Epithelial Wound Healing and Nerve Regeneration in a Rabbit Model

The corneal sub-basal nerve plexus of the experimental eye was injured by removing an 8-mm diameter central epithelium of the cornea using a corneal rust ring remover (Algerbrush II 0.5-mm burr; Alger Equipment, Lago Vista, TX, USA).^21,22 We performed in vivo confocal microscopy after the experimental eye was injured to ensure that the corneal sub-basal nerve plexus was adequately removed. No nerve terminals were detectable throughout the central corneal confocal scanning (data not shown). The area of the corneal epithelial wound was determined by fluorescein staining, observed under the operating microscope (OPMI Pico I; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany) at 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days and measured by Image J software (Wayne Rasband, Bethesda, MD, USA). External eye photography, in vivo confocal microscopy, and corneal esthesiometry were performed twice a week for 3 weeks. All experiments were repeated six times.