Article
Ectasia not a long-term complication of LASIK
Ectasia does not seem to be a long-term complication of LASIK, accordingto P.I. Condon, MD, of the Waterford Eye Clinic, Ireland. Dr. Condon andcolleagues performed LASIK on 147 patients with myopia greater than -10D between 1994 and 2003. The investigators used intraocular subtractionand minimal pachymetry, but there were no clear guidelines on the amountof tissue that should remain after ablation. They used Barraquer's rule-of-thumbthat calls for 300 microns in the central cornea and the Ruiz-Casebeer nomogramused for hyperopic automated lamellar keratoplasty that requires 30% residualcorneal thickness underneath an incision. These patients had a mean refractionof -13.9 D, average age of 40 years, and a mean pupil size of 5.25 mm.
