DRY EYE AFTER LASIK

BACKGROUND \nMyopia (short-sightedness) is reaching epidemic proportions, especially in Asia, due to urbanization and increased screen and \ntext–based activity throughout all aspects of our daily lives. One of the most promising and exciting developments in the world \nof correction of myopia, namely refractive surgery has been the advent of Laser Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK). Dry \neye is considered to be the most common complication of LASIK.1 \n The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the incidence of dry eye in patients undergoing myopic LASIK \nat our tertiary care hospital and also to determine significant risk factors, if any, for developing dry eye in this cohort of patients. \nMATERIALS AND METHODS \nThe study was conducted at the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai. This was a retrospective \nobservational study of all eligible patients undergoing myopic LASIK. 100 patients i.e., 200 eyes were studied. \nRESULTS \nThe mean age of patients undergoing LASIK was 24±4. Majority of them were females (59%). There was no difference in the \ngender and low scores in the Schirmer’s test. Pre-operative and post-operative Schirmer’s test and TBUT values revealed no dry \neye. There was no correlation between pre-operative degree of myopia and post-operative low scores in Schirmer’s test. \nCONCLUSION \nPatients who underwent LASIK did not report and were not found to develop any significant dry eye in the postoperative period.