Late-onset Descemet's membrane detachment secondary to presumed interface fluid syndrome after uneventful deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty for keratoconus

Abstract

A forty-year-old male underwent an uneventful big-bubble deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) for keratoconus in the right eye. Suture removal was attempted 15 months post-surgery and led to temporal graft host dehiscence that required resuturing of the graft. The patient presented 4 months later with increased intraocular pressure (IOP), graft edema, and nasal Descemet membrane detachment (DMD). IOP control with medication led to reduction and total resolution of DMD and a clear graft. We postulate that the DMD, in this case, was caused by a mechanism similar to the interface fluid syndrome (IFS) that occurs in post-laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) eyes and should be considered as a differential diagnosis for DMD following DALK.