gms | German Medical Science

The Dry Anophthalmic Socket Syndrome (DASS) is a disease of the socket surface, characterized by a loss of tear film homeostasis accompanied by socket discomfort, in which tear film instability, conjunctival inflammation, and damage, as well as eyelid and neurosensory abnormalities, play an etiological role. DASS affects most anophthalmic patients and is a significant cause of socket discomfort and reduced quality of life. The following diagnostic criteria for the DASS were determined: presence of subjective symptoms in the anophthalmic socket evaluated with standardized measurements (OSDI ≥ 13, SANDE ≥ 13, or DEQ-5 ≥ 6) and at least one of the five following clinical abnormalities: anterior blepharitis, posterior blepharitis, abnormalities of the meibomian glands (MGs) in the in vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), reduced tear meniscus height, and conjunctival inflammation.