Purpose:
To report the 5-year outcomes of the first reported case of bilateral Descemet stripping only (DSO) for Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) at our center. Visual, biomicroscopic, and confocal microscopic findings are described.
Methods:
A retrospective case report.
Results:
A 55-year-old woman with bilateral FECD was referred with decreased visual acuity and blurred vision that interrupted activities of daily living. She underwent sequential 4-mm DSO procedures 6 months apart, with early postoperative results previously reported. Subjective visual symptoms, visual acuity, and corneal edema were analyzed at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 2 years, 3 years, and 5 years postoperatively. Best corrected visual acuity of 0.0 (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) and corneal clearance were achieved in the third month after the procedure. These results have remained stable in the 5-year follow-up period.
Conclusions:
Early postoperative results from DSO surgery are encouraging, but questions remain regarding its longevity. Publication of longer-term outcomes such as this is necessary to establish the validity of this procedure as an intervention for FECD.
Peripheral ulcerative keratitis (PUK) is a group of corneal disorders that cause peripheral corneal thinning, threatening globe integrity in advance stages. It is usually associated with systemic autoimmune diseases and management is based on local and systemic approaches. We present the case of a 47-year-old man with a previous history of bacterial keratitis in his left eye presenting with 1 month of bilateral ocular pain and redness. At examination, diffuse bilateral globe inflammation with paracentral corneal thinning in his left eye was observed. He was diagnosed with bilateral scleritis and PUK in his left eye. Workup for associated systemic autoimmune disease yielded negative results. The patient was started on pulses of intravenous methylprednisolone followed by oral prednisone failing to achieve sufficient control of the inflammatory syndrome. Subsequently, periodic intravenous cyclophosphamide was administered with a favorable response. A multilayer amniotic membrane graft was applied, but there was rapid melting with reabsorption of the tissue, resulting in extreme corneal thinning at the inferior paracentral cornea. A decentered 8.5-mm superficial anterior lamellar keratoplasty (SALK) was then performed obtaining the donor graft with a femtosecond laser but performing manual trepanation in the recipient. At 12 months, visual and biomicroscopic measures do not show deterioration and inflammation remains under control with oral azathioprine as maintenance regime. The management of PUK includes both systemic immunosuppression and tectonic procedures to preserve the globe integrity. Diverse surgical techniques have been attempted, but no definitive guidelines are available. Decentered large SALK is a simple technique that can yield acceptable visual results.
Idiopathic orbital inflammation (IOI) is a noninfectious inflammatory disease whose etiology remains unknown. Treatment is focused on reducing inflammation, which becomes challenging in nonresponding cases. We report the case of a 59-year-old woman with refractory IOI that showed a positive response to tocilizumab therapy. The patient was diagnosed with a unilateral sclerosing IOI for 9 years and showed a negative control with previous oral steroids, peribulbar steroid injections, radiotherapy, immunosuppressors, and intravenous rituximab. After the initiation of 8 mg/kg intravenous tocilizumab, a complete reduction of the pain and the orbital inflammation signs was observed and her condition remained stable for the following 6 years under a monthly dose of 4 mg/kg. In recalcitrant IOI cases, tocilizumab could be considered a possible treatment to reduce inflammatory signs and symptoms with positive long-term outcomes as in our case.
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