Descemet stripping only for Descemet's membrane detachment and sectoral corneal edema

To describe a case of corneal decompensation in the setting of a Descemet's membrane detachment that developed following aborted Hydrus minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) that was successfully treated with a Descemet's stripping only procedure.

A 75 year-old female patient presented with symptomatic corneal decompensation following complicated Hydrus MIGS surgery. Ocular coherence tomography demonstrated an inferonasal Descemet's detachment with overlying edema. Specular microscopy revealed undetectable cells centrally but a peripheral cell density of 1446 cells/mm². The Descemet's detachment did not respond to an intracameral air injection and a subsequent Descemet's stripping only procedure was performed. The corneal edema resolved by postoperative week 6. At postoperative month 2, best corrected visual acuity was 20/40 and specular microscopy demonstrated central cell density of 975 cells/mm².

Descemet's stripping only can be an effective treatment for some cases of corneal decompensation that occur in the setting of a Descemet's membrane detachment from complicated intraocular surgery, such as in this case with MIGS surgery.