Toxic anterior segment syndrome following deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty

Abstract

We present the case of a 31-year-old patient with toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) that developed after undergoing deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK). She had keratoconus, and despite wearing hard contact lenses for many years in the left eye, her vision had deteriorated; therefore, DALK was performed on this eye. The preoperative visual acuity (VA) was finger counting at 3 m. Routine DALK was performed using the "big-bubble" technique. The corneal entry incision was hydrated at the end of the surgery, which was terminated by air injection into the anterior chamber. On postoperative day 1, VA was at the level of hand movements, and the cornea was edematous. Topical high-dose dexamethasone and oral steroids were initiated considering the diagnosis of TASS. Subsequently, the patient's VA increased, and the corneal edema decreased. We believe that the use of re-sterilized cannulas may have been the likely cause of TASS. Although DALK can be performed without interfering with the anterior chamber, one should keep in mind that TASS may occur in response to the solution used to hydrate the incision site and the air injected into the anterior chamber.