title: Some problems after photorefractive keratectomy.
abstract: We analyzed the data from 1821 patients (2920 eyes) who received photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) to investigate the postoperative complications which cause a significant decrease in visual acuity. A corneal haze of grade 2 or more developed in 9 patients (11 eyes, 0.38%) and corticosteroid-induced ocular hypertension occurred in 3 patients (4 eyes, 0.14%). Three patients (4 eyes) who had corneal haze of grade 2 or more underwent repeated photorefractive keratectomy and one patient (2 eyes) with steroid-induced ocular hypertension underwent trabeculectomies. A decrease of best spectacle corrected visual acuity of two lines or more was detected in 7 patients (8 eyes, 0.27%), caused by irregular astigmatism, steroid-induced cataract, incidental choroidal neovascular membrane, and an unknown origin. Good predictability and stabilization after photorefractive keratectomy was maintained at the 2 year follow-up. However, some subjective symptoms were reported by many patients and some complications occurred in a minority of eyes despite the excellent visual outcome in a large majority.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University Medical College, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Sah
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D003315:Cornea / Q000601:surgery*; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000601:surgery*; D009798:Ocular Hypertension / Q000139:chemically induced; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000009:adverse effects; D012086:Reoperation; D014130:Trabeculectomy; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D014792:Visual Acuity
chemical_list: D011239:Prednisolone