Use Of Sf6 To Quickly Resolve Acute Corneal Hydrops

We wish to present a case of de novo corneal hydropsmaximus in a 19-year-old girl with no previous ocular history. She presented to us as a third opinion after being told that her condition is terminal and will end with a corneal transplant. 

University eye hospital Svjetlost, Zagreb, Croatia

Patient NM, F19, was seen at an emergency eye department first as suspected HSV then 1 day later it was diagnosed as acute hydrops, corneal edema reached up to 1500 microns. In her hometown 2 cornea specialists advised to wait until the cornea ruptures and then proceed with a corneal transplant. She then came for a third opinion and asked us to perform any solution that doesn't involve a corneal transplant. We then proceeded to instill SF6 gas into the AC for 3 days. A mix of 30-70 SF6-air was used every time, volume was 4 ml every instillation. After 7 days from first injection the corneal hydrops resolved leaving a scar. 

Acute corneal hydrops can be managed with SF6 gas for emergency cases to stabilise the cornea for future procedures. This can be very helpful in young patients where one would like to avoid a corneal transplant at a very young age.