Management of Descemet membrane detachment secondary to forceps assisted delivery in a newborn

To describe the clinical signs and management of Descemet membrane (DM) detachment after forceps-related trauma during birth. A 2-day-old term infant presented with right eye corneal clouding and history of forceps assisted delivery. Ophthalmic assessment was consistent for corneal trauma and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT Visante®) revealed DM detachment. Prolonged topical treatment considerably reduced edema, but after four months of treatment superior DM detachment persisted, anterior chamber air injection at this point also failed to achieve apposition. Central visual axis remained partially spared in the months to follow, and intensive amblyopia treatment was indicated. Prolonged topical treatment may be helpful to reduce edema and risk of severe amblyopia in DM tears secondary to forceps traumatism at birth, but insufficient in cases of large DM detachment.

Keywords: Birth associated trauma; Corneal injury; Descemet detachment; Desprendimiento Descemet; Forceps; Fórceps; Lesión corneal; Traumatismo parto.