Keratectasia After LASIK But Not After PRK in One Patient

PURPOSE: To report a case of keratectasia in a patient who underwent LASIK in the right eye and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in the left eye for correction of compound myopic astigmatism. METHODS: A 30-year-old man underwent LASIK in the right eye and PRK in left eye for refraction of -1.75 -1.50 x 48 degrees and -1.00 -1.75 x 100 degrees, respectively. Preoperative corneal thickness was 447 microm in the right eye and 446 microm in the left eye. RESULTS: Postoperative corneal thickness decreased to 341 microm and 384 microm in the right and left eye, respectively. Uncorrected visual acuity in the left eye was 20/20, but the right eye developed keratectasia, which led to severe visual loss (20/400). CONCLUSIONS: Photorefractive keratectomy may be better than LASIK for ablative refractive surgery for low myopic astigmatism in eyes with low central corneal thickness.