Clinical manifestation of corneal epithelial dystrophy after LASIK

Abstract

Modern keratorefractive surgery provides high efficiency, safety, predictability, stability of clinical and functional results of correction of various types of ametropia. In the process of preoperative diagnostics, standard and special examination methods are performed to exclude corneal diseases and determine the optimal technology for laser vision correction in each specific case. However, detection of subclinical forms of dystrophies and degenerations of the cornea is not always possible in the course of standard preoperative diagnostics. In this connection, the aim of this work is to present a clinical case of the manifestation of corneal epithelial dystrophy after laser vision correction. The article describes a rare case of clinical manifestation of corneal epithelial dystrophy after excimer laser vision correction, which was compensated by anti-inflammatory and corneoprotective therapy. Diagnostic studies are also separately described, including keratotopographic examination, optical coherence tomography of the anterior segment of the eyes and in vivo confocal microscopy of the cornea, the role of these research methods in the early diagnosis of degenerative processes of the cornea is noted. In vivo laser confocal microscopy is classified as a minimally invasive diagnostic manipulation that allows real-time analysis of all layers of the cornea at a level close to histological. Recently, this method of diagnosing the anterior segment of the eye has found wide application in clinical practice. The management of patients with corneal dystrophies requires increased attention from an ophthalmologist; anti-inflammatory and keratoprotective therapy of the cornea, followed by long-term dynamic monitoring of the eye condition, is topical as a prescribed treatment.