Intraoperative Optical Coherence Tomography-Guided Management of Cap-Lenticule Adhesion During SMILE

To report successful lenticule extraction using intraoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) in a case of cap-lenticule adhesion during small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE).

Case report.

A 22-year-old patient with a refractive error of -5.00 -0.50 × 120° and -5.00 -0.75 × 60° in the right and left eyes, respectively, was scheduled for SMILE. The lenticule was created using the VisuMax femtosecond laser system (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany). The surgeon experienced difficulty while extracting the lenticule in the right eye. The patient was immediately shifted under the surgical microscope integrated with intraoperative OCT. The lenticule was found to be adherent to the anterior stromal cap, which was seen as hyperreflective spikes in the posterior plane, in contrast to the anterior plane, which showed minimal reflectivity, suggesting an inadvertent posterior plane entry. The peripheral edge of the lenticule was lifted from the anterior stromal cap under direct visualization of intraoperative feedback images provided by intraoperative OCT. The edge of the lenticule, which was freed, was then grasped with microforceps and extracted in toto using the continuous curvilinear lenticulerrhexis technique. At the end of surgery, the intrastromal pocket was screened under intraoperative OCT for any lenticule remnants. One week after surgery, the uncorrected distance visual acuity was 20/20 with smooth, regular interface on anterior segment optical coherence tomography.

Intraoperative OCT is useful in cases of difficult lenticule extraction during SMILE because it provides real-time visualization of the lenticule and helps in discerning its relation with the anterior stromal cap and the underlying stromal bed. By using intraoperative OCT and the continuous curvilinear lenticulerrhexis technique, satisfactory anatomical and visual outcomes were obtained. [J Refract Surg. 2017;33(11):783-786.].