Journal List > J Korean Ophthalmol Soc > v.54(2) > 1009602

Lee, Cho, Cho, Kyung, and Chang: Spontaneous Reattachment of Descemet's Membrane Detachment at Postoperative Two Months, Which Occurred During Cataract Surgery

Abstract

Purpose

To report a case of spontaneously reattached Descemet's membrane detachment, which first occurred during the cataract surgery, and still remained after injection of 100% air into the chamber.

Case summary

A 78-year-old woman came to the clinic with decreased visual acuity. She had a brunescent cataract and underwent extracapsular cataract extraction with a posterior chamber lens implantation. During the irrigation and aspiration procedure, the Descemet's membrane was torn and detached. An anterior chamber injection of 100% air was performed prior to the conclusion of surgery. Descemet's membrane detachment remained at the center of the cornea and was naturally reattached without any surgical procedure. At 2 months after the surgery, a well-reattached Descemet's membrane and a clear central cornea were observed.

Conclusions

Descemet's membrane detachment is a rare but potentially serious complication of intraocular surgery. The authors report a case of naturally reattached Descemet's membrane detachment which remained after injection of 100% air into the chamber.

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Figure 1.
Descemet membrane detachment during extracapsular cataract surgery. (A) Descemet membrane tear (yellow arrows) at the mid-periphery cornea due to insertion of instruments. Scrolled edge of descemet membrane (black arrows) (B) The area of Descemet membrane detachment involved 50% of the entire cornea (dotted line).
jkos-54-351f1.tif
Figure 2.
Anterior segment photography at postoperative 1 month. The BCVA was 0.04. (A) Moderate stromal edema at the central cornea (B) Descemet membrane detachment was at the inferior cornea (black arrow) and about 40% of entire cornea was involved. The tear margin was not scrolled and separation between the stroma and descemet membrane was less than 1 mm.
jkos-54-351f2.tif
Figure 3.
Anterior segment photography at postoperative 2 months. The BCVA was 0.3. (A) Descemet membrane is well attached and corneal edema is no longer seen. (B) Specular microscopy at postoperative two months.
jkos-54-351f3.tif
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