title: Use of peripheral chatter lines for free-flap alignment during LASIK.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Vision Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Hwan
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Eung Kweon
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: 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