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Hemorrhagic Descemet Membrane Detachment Following Syphilitic Interstitial Keratitis
Roland Höllhumer1, Aida Zairani Mz, Stephanie Watson
1*Sydney Eye Hospital, Sydney, Australia; †University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; ‡Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and §Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Purpose:
Syphilitic interstitial keratitis is a stromal inflammatory disease with characteristic secondary vascularization. This case illustrates a late complication of hemorrhagic Descemet membrane detachment.
Methods:
Case report.
Results:
The patient presented with painless sudden visual loss and progressive shallowing of the anterior chamber caused by hemorrhagic Descemet membrane detachment. She had corneal neovascularization and a positive syphilis serology. Owing to the risk of pupil block glaucoma, the patient had surgical drainage of the blood via an ab externo approach.
Conclusions:
This case illustrates a previously unreported complication of syphilitic interstitial keratitis. The patient recovered good visual acuity and had residual pigment deposits in the pre-Descemet interface.
