Bilateral corneal infection as a complication of laser in situ keratomileusis.

Laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) as described by Pallikaris et al 1 has been shown to be effective in treating a wide range of myopia. Laser in situ keratomileusis has the advantage over excimer photorefractive keratectomy(PRK), that with LASIK there is less stromal wound healing response. 2-4 However, LASIK requires the use of a sophisticated microkeratome and greater surgical skill than PRK. Intraoperative and postoperative complications of LASIK but not of PRK include severing of the flap, epithelial ingrowth under the flap, flap wrinkling, and corneal astigmatism. 3,4 To our knowledge, however, corneal infection as a complication of LASIK has not been published in the literature. Corneal infection following PRK has been reported in 3 cases, but in each case, the infection was observed in only one eye. 5,6 We herein report a case of bilateral severe corneal infection affecting visual acuity in a patient who underwent simultaneous bilateral LASIK.