Preservação de córneas de felinos domésticos (Felis catus - Linnaeus, 1758) em conservante utilizando a água de coco como meio nutritivo

Abstract

Corneal endotelium cells present the important function of osmotic pump and barrier, thus keeping it transparent. The loss of these cells, either by any reason, becomes the cornea cloudy, influencing negativety in the visual capacity of the individual. For this fact, the conservation of corneas for transplant ends has evolved sufficiently to the long one of the years. Had to the characteristics desirable physicist-chemistries and the low cost of the coconut water, the aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of the use of the coconut water as nutritious medium in corneal preservation medium. A total of 9 cats, without no corneal pathology in course, had been sacrified. One cornea of each pair was evaluated immediately, being the other evaluated after preservation on the medium with coconut on days 3, 7 and 14. The corneas had been processed for optic microscopy. The corneas had become impracticable since day 3 of conservation, having presented morphologic alterations, signals of cellular death and estromal thickness increased, indicating important edema. We conclude that the coconut water did not serve as nutritious medium for corneal storage medium of domestic felines, however the corneas, due to absence of contamination of the medium, can be used in tectonic transplants and lamellar keratoplasty.