2005 ESCRS Ridley Medal Lecture: will keratectasia be a major complication for LASIK in the long term?

The literature on keratoconus and progressive post-laser in situ keratomileusis ectasia (PPLK) was studied after a retrospective review of 137 highly myopic eyes (mean -15.58 diopters) 5 to 9 years after LASIK. Only 2 eyes developed keratectasia, 1 after automated lamellar keratolasty for myopia and 1 after myopic LASIK. In neither case was intraoperative pachymetry carried out. In the PPLK case, a residual stromal bed thickness (RSBT) of 120 microm was discovered when a retreatment was attempted on lifting the flap. The PPLK developed 2 years later. The obvious discrepancy between reported cases of PPLK and the expected rate from the incidences in larger retrospective studies and our own 15-year experience suggests that PPLK is not a significant complication provided the standard rules applying to the preoperative total corneal thickness and RSBT are observed. However, newer techniques for the study of posterior corneal changes and those involving corneal biomechanics should be used in the future to study the long-term effects of LASIK on the cornea.