Evaluation of cornea in vivo after LASIK with confocal microscopy

Objective To evaluate the cornea in vivo after LASIK with confocal microscopy.Methods 30 eyes of 15 cases undergone LASIK were examined in vivo with confocal microscopy at preoperative,postoperative one day,one week,one month and three months,respectively,and to analyze the keratocytes in quantitatively and qualitatively,to analyze the endothelial cell in quantitatively.To measure the thickness of flap with Z-scan technique.Results There was no significant difference between pre- and post-operation keratocytes in anterior stroma in quantitatively(F=1.76,P0.05),keratocyte nuclei seemed to be more oval,large than before LASIK,and be normal at three months postoperative.No morphologic and quantitative changes were present at posterior stroma.The mean endothelial density before operation and postoperative 3 months were 2781.73±194.56 cell/mm2 and 2685.7±194.56 cell/mm2,respectively,and no significant difference between them(t=0.188,P0.05).At 3 months postoperative,mean the thickness of flap was 117.60±13.96μm,none was more than 150μm.Conclusions The process of corneal tissue healing can be observed in detail in vivo with confocal microscopy,which was a useful tool for examining cornea after LASIK.The thickness of flap was affected by various factors,the precise of intended thickness of flap designed by producer needed improved.