Diagnosis and treatment: Fuchs’ Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy

Treatment for  Fuchs’ Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy (FECD)

The treatment of FECD depends on your symptoms.

No symptoms:

• No treatment or follow up is required.

Mild symptoms:

• Eye drops (sodium chloride 5%) may be helpful. These eye drops work by drawing fluid out of the cornea, thereby reducing the swelling.

Moderate/severe symptoms:

As the condition progresses, the cornea becomes more swollen and a corneal transplant may be required.

The corneal transplant may be one of two types:

• Endothelial Keratoplasty: where healthy endothelial cells from a donor are transplanted onto the back surface of your cornea.
• Penetrating Keratoplasty: where the whole of your cornea is replaced with a healthy donor cornea.

Another surgical approach under investigation for FECD is a procedure called Descemet Stripping Only (DSO). DSO is the removal of the diseased area of the central cornea with no donor cells transplanted. Once the diseased area is removed from the centre of the cornea, the patient's own healthy endothelial cells move from the outer edges of the cornea to the centre of the cornea. DSO is not yet performed routinely but is currently under research.