Sterile corneal melt after descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty in patients with previously undiagnosed Sjogren syndrome.

Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) is an alternative to penetrating keratoplasty in the surgical management of endothelial disorders. The major advantage of DSEK over penetrating keratoplasty is that the integrity of the anterior cornea is largely maintained in DSEK. Hence, patients undergoing DSEK have a lower risk of complications such as suprachoroidal hemorrhage and postoperative traumatic wound dehiscence; these patients regain vision sooner and are more likely to achieve better uncorrected vision. Nevertheless, DSEK can be associated with complications, the most frequently reported being graft detachment. Graft rejection and pupillary block may also occur. We describe 2 patients who developed sterile corneal melting after DSEK. Medical evaluation revealed previously undiagnosed Sjögren syndrome (SS) as the underlying cause.