Rupture of Descemet's membrane secondary to presumed non-accidental injury

Obstetrical forceps-induced Descemet membrane tears

Obstetrical forceps-induced Descemet membrane tears (FIDMT) are usually encountered during complicated forceps-assisted deliveries. The condition may lead to significant visual debilitation in young children and is frequently ignored due to its low incidence. Undue stretch on the Descemet's membrane during the process of forceps-assisted delivery results in their vertical/oblique tear (s), which usually leads to corneal edema in early neonatal life. On its resolution, these residual tears result in visually disabling astigmatism that can lead to dense and recalcitrant amblyopia. Slit-lamp examination, anterior segment optical coherence tomography, specular microscopy, confocal microscopy, and corneal topography and tomography can be employed for its accurate diagnosis. While these can be prevented by improved perinatal care, once diagnosed, they mandate prompt refractive correction and amblyopia therapy to prevent disabling visual deterioration in affected children. In adulthood, medical and surgical management may be planned for symptomatic patients based on coexistent amblyopia as this is the major factor guiding visual prognosis. There is limited comprehensive literature in this regard, and the present review discusses the pathogenesis, clinical features, and recent developments in investigations, management, and outcomes of FIDMT during the last three decades.

The Descemet Membrane in Primary Congenital Glaucoma

PURPOSE

To evaluate Descemet membrane (DM) morphology in eyes with primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) in vivo using high-definition anterior segment optical coherence tomography (ASOCT) and on histopathology.

METHODS

Corneal scans of patients with PCG (22 eyes of 15 patients) were evaluated for DM morphology and anterior chamber angle using ASOCT. The DM thickness in PCG eyes was compared with fellow eyes (8 eyes) of unilateral patients with PCG and healthy controls (12 eyes) on ASOCT. The DM morphology was also compared on the histopathology of corneal tissues (9) obtained from PCG eyes after keratoplasty and enucleated eyes of retinoblastoma (6 controls) on light microscopy with immunostaining for collagen IV.

RESULTS

On ASOCT, all affected eyes showed the presence of either a thickened DM complex or a hyper-reflective double layer representing the thickened DM and pre-Descemet layer (PDL), unlike a single membrane in the controls and fellow eyes. On ASOCT, among patients with PCG, the DM showed significant thickening (32.0 ± 11.2 μm) versus fellow eyes (14.4 ± 3.3 μm) and controls (11.5 ± 1 μm) (P < 0.001; analysis of variance). The thickened DM complex continued peripherally into the trabecular meshwork as an abnormal membrane in 16/22 affected eyes. On histopathology, thickening of DM was also more among PCG eyes (median: 67.9 μm range: 27.2-214.9) versus controls (median: 27.7 μm, range: 22.1-36.1; P = 0.005) as also of PDL (median: 14 μm, range: 5.9-30.5) of PCG versus (median 3.5, range: 1.3-6.7 μm) in controls; P = 0.014.

CONCLUSIONS

Thickening of DM and PDL occurs in eyes with PCG and is seen to have a peripheral extension upto the angle recess.

Congenital bilateral folds in Descemet's membrane with high astigmatism

We present the case of a boy with congenital bilateral folds in Descemet's membrane, causing high astigmatism and myopia. There are multiple causes of folds and tears in Descemet's membrane. In our case, the most likely origin is the mother's prolonged labor, although a severe car accident of the mother at the gestational age of 27 weeks as the cause of these folds cannot be entirely excluded.