Epithelial ingrowth following small incision lenticule extraction

A 27-year-old female patient came for a routine postoperative check-up, with a history of bilateral ReLEx small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery done 1.5 years back. On examination, epithelial ingrowth was noticed in the left eye at 8-9'o'clock position. Topography showed excess flattening in the area of ingrowth. Anterior Segment OCT showed hyper-reflectivity and was measured to be at a depth of 120 microns from the corneal surface. As the ingrowth appeared non-progressive, with no involvement of the pupillary axis and no visual complaints, no active intervention was done. Nonetheless, treatment options available include mechanical scraping and Nd:YAG laser procedure.