SEP 13, 2021
Intraoperative Large Corneal Bulla
1-Minute Video
01:40
Cornea/External Disease, Retina/Vitreous
In this 1-Minute Video, Drs. Tricia Fernandez and Denis Jusufbegovic manage an intraoperative large corneal bulla. They encountered the unusual corneal finding at the beginning of a vitrectomy surgery. The patient was a 50-year-old woman with a complex tractional retinal detachment OD due to proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and who had undergone cataract surgery a week earlier. Upon exerting light pressure on the eye for trocar placement, a transparent large corneal elevation of unclear composition appeared, originating from the clear corneal wound. This elevation could not be moved or rinsed away from the surface of the eye. This sizeable corneal bulla was formed from the passage of the aqueous fluid through an incompletely sealed stromal wound; a completely healed overlying epithelium trapped the fluid. The bulla reformed after a needle drainage, and the corneal epithelium had to be removed to continue with vitrectomy.
Relevant Financial Disclosures: None