gms | German Medical Science

Laser-in-situ-keratomileusis (LASIK) is a safe procedure for the correction of anisometropia though there is always a risk of complications, for instance the sterile infiltration of inflammatory cells (diffuse lamellar keratitis). The aim of this study is to show the incidence of DLK between slit lamp examination and confocal microscopy.

58 eyes of 34 patients were examined one day, one week and one month after LASIK. The mean age was 39 years (22-59 years). The confocal microscopy (Confoscan P4, Tomey, Erlangen) was carried out after slit-lamp examination.

One day after surgery slit lamp microscopy revealed 19 DLKs either in stage I° or II° (I°=12, II°=7) after Linebarger, seven days postoperatively there were 4 cases left (I°=2, II°=2). There was no record of DLK after one month. All infiltrations named above could be shown by confocal microscopy with more than 1000 cells per mm². Additionally confocal microscopy could record 18 cases more with DLK infiltration on the first day after LASIK with up to 1000 cells per mm².

Confocal microscopy can show inflammatory cell infiltrations of the kind that cannot be seen by slit-lamp examination. Particularly infiltrations of less than 1000 cells per mm² can be diagnosed better with confocal microscopy than with slit lamp examination.