Fuchs' Dystrophy

Overview

Fuchs' Dystrophy is a degenerative, slowly progressing disease that usually affects both eyes. It happens when the endothelial cells, which are essential in keeping the cornea clear, gradually deteriorate for no reason. The endothelium, the thin innermost layer of the cornea, becomes less efficient at pumping out water, and this causes the cornea to swell and vision to distort. Vision can become extremely impaired.

Warning Signs & Symptoms

Initially a patient will wake up with blurry vision that clears up gradually throughout the day. As the disease progresses, small blisters may form in the endothelium. The blisters get bigger and may eventually break, which is very painful. Fuchs' Dystrophy can also cause the shape of the cornea to change, causing further vision problems. Symptoms include eye pain, sensitivity, blurred vision and seeing halos around lights.

Treatment/Procedures

Doctors will initially try to treat the disease with drops, ointments or soft contact lenses that create flaps over the sores to help reduce pain. Sometimes doctors will instruct a patient to dry out the eyes two to three times a day with a blow dryer held at arm's length. Once the disease interferes with a person's daily activities, a corneal transplant is recommended, which is the only cure. Click here for more information about the disease.

Prevention

Fuchs' Dystrophy is usually an inherited condition that rarely affects people before their 50s. There is no known prevention measure.

Rehabilitation

If a corneal transplant is required, the patient must wear an eye patch for a certain period of time, which protects the new cornea from injury. Eye drops are required to prevent rejection of the transplant, and full vision recovery may take up to a year.

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