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Published on: July 6, 2015
Long-term results of laser in situ keratomileusis for high myopia: risk for ectasia
Patrick I Condon1, Michael O'Keefe, Perry S Binder
1Aut Even Hospital, Kilkenny. pcond@eircorn.net
Purpose:
To ascertain the long-term stability of laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in highly myopic eyes.
Setting:
Clinical practice office-based surgery.
Method:
Charts of eyes with high myopia who had LASIK surgery by the same surgeon between 1994 and 2000 were reviewed in 2003, and patients were given an appointment for follow-up examinations. In these highly myopic eyes, surgery was originally performed to create undercorrections with or without decreasing the ablation diameters to maximally conserve the residual stromal bed thickness.
Results:
Of the 107 eyes with myopia between -10.00 diopters (D) and -35.00 D reviewed and operated on in a 3-year period between 1994 and 1998, 35 eyes of 31 patients had a single enhancement procedure. One case of ectasia as a result of excessive tissue removal occurred in a patient with a preoperative refraction of -28.00 D. Of the 107 eyes reviewed, 78 (73%) were examined after 5 years, 68 (63%) after 7 years, and 15 (14%) between 9 years and 11 years.
Conclusions:
Operating on eyes with highly myopic refractive errors and removing substantial tissue thickness did not produce ectasia in this series. Although high myopia has been considered a risk factor for post-LASIK ectasia, adherence to proper screening and intraoperative pachymetry appears to decrease the risk.
