Unilateral corneal ectasia following small-incision lenticule extraction

We describe a case of unilateral corneal ectasia in a 26-year-old man following small-incision lenticule extraction. The preoperative corneal topography was normal, with a minimum corneal thickness of 511 μm and 513 μm in the right eye and left eye, respectively. Lenticules of 85 μm and 82 μm were fashioned to offer a refractive correction of -3.75 -1.50 × 180 and -3.50 -1.50 × 165 in the right eye and left eye, respectively. Twelve months after small-incision lenticule extraction, the patient presented with early signs of ectasia in the left eye on corneal topography, which had worsened at the 18-month examination. Intrastromal corneal ring segment implantation with corneal collagen crosslinking was performed to arrest further progression and to improve uncorrected distance visual acuity. On the last examination, the corrected distance visual acuity was 20/20(-2).

Dr. Mahipal S. Sachdev receives travel grants from Carl Zeiss Meditec AG. No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.