Open AccessSevere Corneal Morphological Alterations after Excimer Laser Surface Ablation for a High Astigmatism
Author(s) -
Roszkowska Anna M.,
Oliverio Giovanni W.,
Signorino Giuseppe A.,
Urso Mario,
Aragona Pasquale
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
case reports in ophthalmology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.299
H-Index - 17
ISSN - 1663-2699
DOI - 10.1159/000516311
Subject(s) - case report
We report long-term alterations of anterior corneal stroma after excimer laser surface ablation for a high astigmatism. The patient claimed progressive visual loss in his right eye (RE) during the last 3 years after bilateral laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy (LASEK) surgery. His examination comprised visual acuity (UDVA and CDVA), slit-lamp examination, corneal topography and tomography, AS-OCT, and confocal microscopy. The UDVA was 0.1 in his RE and 1.0 in the left eye. The CDVA in the RE was 0.8. The slit-lamp examination showed a stromal lesion in the inferior paracentral corneal zone, with multiple vertical tissue bridges and severe thinning. Corneal topography and tomography showed central flattening with inferior steepening and severe alteration in elevation maps. AS-OCT showed void areas in the anterior stroma with thinning of the underlying tissue, and confocal images were not specific. In this case, progressive corneal steepening and thinning that manifest topographically as inferior ectasia occurred in correspondence to the singular stromal alterations after LASEK.