The use of porcine urinary bladder matrix (UBM) to repair a perforated corneal ulcer with iris prolapse in a horse

This report describes the use of porcine urinary bladder matrix (UBM) to repair a full thickness defect in the cornea of a Thoroughbred racehorse. The horse presented with acute keratomalacia of the right eye of 12 h duration that had rapidly progressed to perforation of the cornea with partial iris prolapse. The cornea was surgically debrided with the horse under general anaesthesia and the defect repaired with ACell multilayer wound matrix. A temporary tarsorrhaphy was performed. The defect in the cornea was successfully repaired and the horse regained vision in the eye. Four months after surgery the defect was still undergoing remodelling and the area of opacity in the cornea was progressively reducing.