Late Onset Descemet Membrane Detachment after Radial Keratotomy Resolved with Medical Therapy

Purpose. To report a case of a Descemet membrane’s (DM) detachment after radial keratotomy (RK). Methods. A patient (male) underwent RK (16 cuts) 20 years before referring to the Eye Center of Humanitas (Milan) for a progressive visual loss. The slit-lamp examination showed severe corneal stromal edema and a large DM detachment in the lower half of the cornea. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and endothelial cells count confirmed DM detachment and endothelial cells damage. Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK) was planned and topical hypertonic therapy was prescribed before the surgery. Results. Eight months later, the patient mentioned a spontaneous increase in visual acuity; the slit-lamp examination and the AS-OCT displayed a recovery of corneal transparency with a resolution of DM detachment. Conclusions. This is the first report of spontaneous DM detachment with severe corneal edema after RK. We suggest that hypertonic therapy may reduce DM detachment and restore corneal transparency.