Unusual clinical presentations of new‐onset herpetic eye disease after ocular surgery

PURPOSE: To report five cases of new-onset herpetic eye disease with unusual presentation after ocular surgery. METHODS: Herpetic eye disease was suspected in five cases, three after cataract surgery and two after lamellar corneal transplantation surgery. Of these, four cases presented within 2-6 weeks of surgery. The clinical presentation was in the form of an epithelial defect, suspected epithelial down growth, graft oedema with unexplained anterior chamber inflammation and graft-host interface infection. A swab for viral detection with real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed in all the described cases. RESULTS: Herpes simplex disease was detected in all cases. All cases responded to the antiherpetic medications. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that new-onset herpetic eye disease may occur after cataract surgery and lamellar corneal transplantation, and a high index of suspicion may be necessary for the diagnosis in such cases.