July 09, 2010
LASIK, The Flap Never Heals
By Staff in Categories: LASIK
LAsik, the flap never heals! From several articles and studies: "the LASIK flap never actually heals" "The LASIK flap once cut may contribute little to the mechanical stability of the cornea and probably never completely adheres to the underlying stromal bed" "this results in a weak, central and paracentral hypocellular primitive stromal scar that averages 2.4% as strong as normal comeal stroma" "In contrast, the more superficial, flap margin stromal LASIK wound, which is adjacent to the surface epithelium, was found to heal by producing a 10-fold stronger, hypercellular fibrotic stromal scar that reaches maximum tensile strength by approximately 3.5 years after surgery, averaging 28.1% of normal." "Patients should be informed about the potential for traumatic flap dehiscence following LASIK surgery and advised to wear eye protection when appropriate. Due to minimal wound healing except at the edges of the flap, corneal flap dehiscence may occur months or years after uneventful LASIK" " we report that the lamellar flap is still susceptible to ocular trauma 7 years after LASIK. Informed consent should include discussion of long-term flap complications and patients should be advised to protect their eyes after LASIK, especially during high risk activities." "even years after the LASIK procedure, a corneal flap displacement can occur." "Our report, as well as the related literature, indicates that the healing of the flap is incomplete even 6 years after LASIK surgery." "A ...