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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffYour doctor may suggest the following methods and procedures to improve your comfort or stop your symptoms and signs of Fuchs' dystrophy from worsening.
- Use eyedrops or ointments to reduce the amount of fluid in your cornea.
- Use a hair dryer and hold it at arm's length. Direct warm — not hot — air across your face two or three times a day to evaporate excess fluid in the cornea and dry out blisters.
- Wear soft contact lenses to improve vision and reduce discomfort.
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Receive a corneal transplant, also known as keratoplasty, which replaces damaged cornea tissue with healthy tissue from a donor. There are many types of corneal procedures — some replace only a few thin layers of the cornea, while others replace the entire cornea. For Fuchs' dystrophy, an increasingly common procedure replaces only the deep layers of the cornea, including the endothelium. This is sometimes referred to as endothelial keratoplasty or posterior lamellar keratoplasty.
Corneal transplants are common and have high success rates. However, you may have to wait a long time for donor tissue to become available. And some people develop problems following transplants. About 20 percent of the time, the transplant recipient's body attempts to reject the new corneal tissue, according to the National Eye Institute. The rejection may cause increased sensitivity, redness, pain and worsening vision. Many times, rejection can be managed with topical eye medications. After corneal transplant, your eyes may feel uncomfortable. You'll need to use eyedrops for several months to help your eyes heal. The majority of people who have a successful transplant for Fuchs' dystrophy continue to be free of symptoms for at least ten years.
- Participate in research or a clinical trial. Clinical trials involve studies of new ways to diagnose or treat a condition. Clinical trials don't always offer a definite diagnosis or cure, but they may allow you to take advantage of the latest knowledge about your condition. For example, there are studies under way about what genes may be involved in Fuchs' dystrophy.
- Afshari NA, et al. Clinical study of Fuchs corneal endothelial dystrophy leading to penetrating keratoplasty. Archives of Ophthalmology. 2006;124:777.
- Biswell R. Cornea. In: Riordan-Eva P, et al. Vaughan & Asbury's General Ophthalmology, 17th edition. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008.
- Facts about the cornea and corneal disease. National Eye Institute. http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/cornealdisease. Accessed June 18, 2009.
- Genetic and rare diseases information center. Office of Rare Diseases Research. http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD/QnA.aspx?PageID=4&CaseID=23860&DiseaseID=9678. Accessed June 18, 2009.
- Visiting your doctor. The Corneal Dystrophy Foundation. http://www.fuchs-dystrophy.com/index.html. Accessed June 18, 2009.
- Coping tips. The Corneal Dystrophy Foundation. http://www.fuchs-dystrophy.com/html/tips_for_you_to_alleviate_symp.html. Accessed June 18, 2009.
- Cornea conditions and updates. Cornea Research Foundation of America. http://www.cornea.org/crf_cornea.html. Accessed June 26, 2009.
- Artificial cornea. Cornea Research Foundation of America. http://www.cornea.org/study_cornea.html. Accessed June 26, 2009.
- 9. Current Fuchs' corneal dystrophy studies. The Corneal Dystrophy Foundation. http://www.cornealdystrophyfoundation.org/html/studies.html. Accessed June 26, 2009.
- Robertson DM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 1, 2009.
