Use of peripheral chatter lines for free-flap alignment during LASIK.
OBJECTIVE
To report a case in which an improperly rotated free flap was successfully repositioned using peripheral chatter lines as a reference.


METHODS
A 30-year-old woman with irregular astigmatism as the result of an improperly rotated free flap during LASIK underwent repositioning of the corneal flap correspondingly along the chatter lines.


RESULTS
Best spectacle-corrected visual acuity improved from 20/100 to 20/20 following the procedure. Corneal topography showed improvement in the astigmatism and the Placido disk pattern.


CONCLUSIONS
When marks on a free flap are obscured during LASIK, periodic chatter lines can be used for realignment if no other landmarks are available.
Lee
Jae Hwan
JH
Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Vision Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Kim
Min
M
Kim
Eung Kweon
EK
D000328:Adult; D001251:Astigmatism / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D003319:Corneal Stroma / Q000601:surgery*; D019781:Corneal Topography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D020731:Keratomileusis, Laser In Situ; D012086:Reoperation; D013524:Surgical Flaps