Topography-guided excimer laser ablation of irregular cornea resulting from penetrating injury

J Cataract Refract Surg. 2002 Jan;28(1):186-8. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(01)00803-3.

Abstract

A 26-year-old woman with irregular astigmatism caused by ocular perforation became aphakic in the injured left eye 2 years after the initial trauma. The initial corneoscleral wound repair was performed without intraocular lens implantation. The patient's uncorrected visual acuity in the right eye was 20/20 and in the left eye, counting fingers at 50 cm. The vision in the left eye could not be corrected with a spectacle because of high corneal astigmatism so a rigid gas-permeable contact lens was tried. With a contact lens, the acuity improved to 20/80; however, the patient could not wear the lens because of intolerance and severe astigmatism. As an alternative, topography-guided ablation was performed to correct the corneal astigmatism. Treatment of the irregular central cornea reduced the astigmatism. Three months postoperatively, the corrected visual acuity was 20/20 with a refraction of +8.00 -1.50 x 26. This case indicates that topography-guided ablation can be a useful surgical method for correcting surgically induced irregular astigmatism.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Astigmatism / etiology
  • Astigmatism / surgery*
  • Cornea / surgery*
  • Corneal Injuries*
  • Corneal Topography / methods*
  • Eye Injuries, Penetrating / complications*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lasers, Excimer
  • Lens Implantation, Intraocular
  • Photorefractive Keratectomy / methods*
  • Refraction, Ocular
  • Visual Acuity