Acellular area in the corneal stroma long after LASIK:An in vivo confocal microscopic study

Objective Laser in situ keratomileusis(LASIK) is the most popular technique worldwide for the correction of ametropia.The purpose of this study is to investigate the related factors in the of the corneal stroma after LASIK by confocal microscopy.Methods This study included 68 eyes in 34 patients treated by LASIK,which were divided into a high myopia group(31 eyes,diopter -6.0) and a low or moderate myopia group(37 eyes,diopter -6.0).Morphological changes of the keratocytes in the central corneal stroma were observed by in vivo confocal microscopy,and the thickness of different layers of the cornea measured before and 1,3,7,10,30,60 and 90 d after the operation.Results The mean depth of the was(44.01±10.67) μm in all the 68 eyes.The morphology and density of keratocytes quantified in the interface showed abnormality.The density of keratocytes quantified in the decreased significantly.The mean thickness of the and the density of keratocytes quantified in the interface of the high myopia group showed no significant difference from those of the low or moderate myopia group.Conclusion There would be an acellular area in the corneal stroma long after LASIK.The mean thickness of the cellular was not correlated with either the operation time,patients′ age and preoperative refraction,or the thicknesses of the corneal flap stroma,corneal flap,basal stroma,and epithelium.