Keratoprosthesis research has been a gradual, rather fragmentary process wi
th advances being made by isolated groups of researchers. This has arisen p
artly because of poor funding in the area: research groups which have achie
ved commercial support have often had constraints upon the full disclosure
of their findings. Despite these difficulties there has been real progress
over the last decade by several independent groups. This article concentrat
es upon our own development of a hydrogel core-and-skirt keratoprosthesis,
the: Chirila KPro. in order to illustrate the scientific and clinical probl
ems common to keratoprosthesis research. Pilot data from a clinical trial i
s presented and the priorities for future research are discussed. (C) 2000
Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.