Anterior Segment
TASS
Also known as: TASS, toxic anterior segment syndrome, sterile post operative inflammation, post-cataract sterile inflammation, diffuse corneal oedema after surgery
Filed as: Urgent
Source-cited from the record's own evidence list. Clinical content programme led by Dr Ankit Mathur, PhD, Grad Cert Ocu Thera, B.S. Optom. How the clinical content is governed
Clinical decision support only
Overview
A sterile inflammatory reaction of the anterior segment after anterior segment surgery, typically appearing within a day or two with diffuse corneal oedema and marked anterior chamber activity. Pain is characteristically mild relative to how inflamed the eye looks. It overlaps closely with early infection, and the practical rule is that such an eye is referred and handled as infection first, since only ophthalmology can separate the two.
Recognition
Symptoms: what patients report
- Early postoperative inflammatory symptoms after anterior segment surgery, often within 12–48 hours.
- Blurred vision or hazy vision soon after surgery.
- Minimal pain compared with the degree of inflammation.
Signs: what the examination shows
- Significant anterior chamber reaction.
- Diffuse corneal oedema.
- Early onset after surgery.
- Pain may be minimal or absent despite marked inflammation.
What OptoGuide™ covers for tass
- Pattern reasoning: what this combination of findings points to, and its differentiators
- Don't-miss risks and escalation triggers
- Management tiers with linked Australian therapeutics
- Referral urgency, specialty, and letter drafting
Sources
Standard texts: Kanski's Clinical Ophthalmology: A Systematic Approach, The Wills Eye Manual, Oxford Handbook of Ophthalmology, Oxford American Handbook of Ophthalmology, Signs in Ophthalmology: Causes & Differential Diagnosis.