Calcific band keratopathy after intraocular chondroitin sulfate

A patient developed an acute onset of pseudophakic bullous keratopathy and a diffuse, gray, subepithelial corneal deposit ten days following surgery during which sodium chondroitin sulfate was used. The deposit, identified histologically as calcium, was noted throughout Bowman's layer. The absence of chronic pathologic features in the posterior cornea eliminated Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy as the cause of the acute corneal decompensation. This histopathologic confirmation of calcium deposition with one formulation of chondroitin sulfate, combined with similar conclusions from previous case reports, stimulated the reformulation of the product, which has been shown to be useful in clinical practice.