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Arch Ophthalmol. 2002;120:1213-1217.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A review of complications associated with laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) indicates that most are directly attributable to the creation of a corneal flap.^1-2 In their examination of 1000 consecutive cases of patients who had undergone LASIK, Gimbel and colleagues¹ identified 32 intraoperative and 18 postoperative complications, most of which could be related to issues of flap anatomy, including incomplete passes, thin flaps, buttonholes, flap shrinkage and flap dislocation with subsequent development of striae, and epithelial ingrowth. Stulting and colleagues² reported complications encountered in a series of 1062 cases of patients who had undergone LASIK, and identified 27 intraoperative and 40 postoperative complications, all of which were directly related to the corneal flap with the exception of 2 cases of keratitis.

Although most complications can be resolved with acceptable visual outcomes, persistent flap irregularity or opacification will result in decreased vision. Since epithelialization of the underlying stromal bed might provide . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Report of Cases

Case 1

Case 2

Comment
Corresponding author: Stephen D. McLeod, MD, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, 10 Kirkham St, K-301, San Francisco, CA 94143 (e-mail: smcleod@itsa.ucsf.edu).