Publication Name	World Journal of Transplantation
Manuscript ID	109740
Country	Greece

Category	Transplantation
Manuscript Type	Editorial
Article Title	Bridging gaps in corneal ulcer management: Can photoactivated chromophore for infectious keratitis–corneal collagen cross-linking delay or replace therapeutic keratoplasty?
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Niki I Antonopoulou, Maria S Spyropoulou, Stavros P Papadakos, Garyfalia N Papavasileiou and Andreas C Dimakis
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Stavros P Papadakos, First Department of Gastroenterology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, General Hospital of Athens "Laiko", 17 Agiou Thoma Street, Goudi, Athens 11527, Greece. stavrospapadakos@gmail.com
Key Words	Infectious keratitis; Photoactivated chromophore for infectious keratitis–corneal collagen cross-linking; corneal ulcer; therapeutic keratoplasty; cross-linking therapy
Core Tip	Infectious keratitis remains a major cause of corneal blindness, particularly in low-resource settings where delayed presentation and limited access to donor tissue challenge effective management. This editorial highlight the potential of photoactivated chromophore for infectious keratitis–corneal collagen cross-linking (PACK-CXL) as an adjunct or alternative to therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (PK). With both antimicrobial and tissue-stabilizing properties, PACK-CXL offers a globe-sparing approach that may reduce the need for PK. Integrating PACK-CXL into a stratified treatment algorithm based on ulcer severity and etiology could improve outcomes and expand access to vision-saving care.
Citation	Antonopoulou NI, Spyropoulou MS, Papadakos SP, Papavasileiou GN, Dimakis AC. Bridging gaps in corneal ulcer management: Can photoactivated chromophore for infectious keratitis–corneal collagen cross-linking delay or replace therapeutic keratoplasty? World J Transplant 2025; In press

Received	2025-05-20 07:00
Peer-Review Started	2025-05-21 00:37
To Make the First Decision
Return for Revision	2025-05-30 03:31
Revised	2025-06-07 22:29
Second Decision	2025-08-14 03:14
Accepted by Journal Editor-in-Chief
Accepted by Executive Editor-in-Chief	2025-08-15 01:04
Articles in Press	2025-08-15 01:04
Publication Fee Transferred
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor	2025-08-19 01:25
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	2220-3230 (online)
Open Access	This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Copyright	The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
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