Diagnosis and Treatment

Diagnosis

Fuchs dystrophy can often be diagnosed with slit-lamp biomicroscopy, which illuminates the layers of the cornea to identify disease characteristics such as the extent of corneal guttae formation, corneal edema, and subepithelial haze.
Other tests may include:
• Visual acuity measurement
• Pachymetry to measure the extent of corneal swelling
• Specular and confocal microscopies to quantify the corneal
endothelial cell number and morphology
• Corneal topography to identify curvature changes due to edema

Treatment 

While there is no cure for Fuchs dystrophy, discussing lifestyle changes with patients on how to modify potential risk factors of disease progression is helpful. These include cessation of smoking, protection from ultraviolet light with sunglasses, prevention of diabetes, and improvement of overall cardiovascular risk factors.
In the early stages, patients are usually asymptomatic, and observation without intervention is the best approach. As the condition progresses, symptoms can be managed conservatively with topical hypertonic saline drops or ointment. In more advanced stages, surgical intervention is indicated.