Filling the refractive gap: The piggyback way

Corneal surface irregularities can severely affect preoperative biometry and IOL power calculation, especially in cases where combined keratoplasty and IOL implantation are planned. We report a patient with stage 3 Fuchs endothelial dystrophy who underwent a successful Descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) triple procedure but suffered a hyperopic refractive surprise due to erroneous preoperative biometry and IOL power calculation. Six months later, we corrected the residual refractive error with a secondary piggyback IOL, a Rayner Sulco flex aspheric IOL. Uncorrected vision improved from 5/60 to 6/9 and vision was maintained with a clear DSEK graft at 5 years follow-up. Preoperative biometric difficulties can be an important cause of postoperative refractive surprise in patients undergoing endothelial keratoplasty-triple procedures. Customized sulcus fixated IOL can be a safe and predictable option for treating such surprises. To our knowledge, ours is the first report of implantation of a piggyback IOL in an eye following DSEK.