Treatment of spontaneous chronic corneal epithelial defects (SCCEDs) with diamond burr debridement vs combination diamond burr debridement and superficial grid keratotomy

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of diamond burr debridement ( DBD ) vs a combination of diamond burr debridement with superficial grid keratotomy ( DBD + SGK ) for the treatment of spontaneous chronic corneal epithelial defects ( SCCED s) in dogs. Procedure Medical records of dogs diagnosed with SCCED s from three different institutions that received a DBD or DBD + SGK between 2003 and 2015 were reviewed. Age, breed, sex, history of a previous SCCED , procedures performed, time to healing, and complications were statistically analyzed. Results One hundred and ninety‐four dogs met the inclusion criteria. Eighty‐two of 106 eyes (77.4%) received a DBD and healed following the first treatment (13.3 ± 4.9 days to recheck, range 2‐27). Sixty‐eight of 88 eyes (77.3%) received a DBD + SGK and healed following the first treatment (15.4 ± 5.0 days to recheck, range 5‐45). No significant difference in healing outcome was found between the two treatments ( P  =   1). For SCCED s that healed after a single treatment ( n  =   150), complications occurred in 13.3% ( n  =   20) of eyes with no difference in complications between the DBD and DBD + SGK groups ( P  =   .86). Thirty‐five of 44 eyes (80.0%) healed after the second treatment (16 ± 8.2 days from second treatment to third visit, range 5‐47); nine of 44 eyes (20.0%) were not healed (12 ± 6.2 days from second treatment to third visit, range 5‐25). The second treatment method did not influence healing rates ( P  =   .64). Conclusions DBD and DBD + SGK are equally effective treatment methods for canine SCCED s. No differences in complication rates after one treatment were observed between DBD and DBD + SGK .