http://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/ophthalmologytimes/ar...&sk=&date=&&pageID=1

Feb 15, 2006
By: Cheryl Guttman
Ophthalmology Times

Baltimore―Some patients with preoperative risk factors for developing post-LASIK ectasia never develop the complication, while other individuals without evidence of topographic abnormalities or pachymetry values associated with surgical risk do.

This suggests that some intrinsic structural properties of the cornea not detectable with current screening methods may be important determinants in the development of that condition, said Ashley Behrens, MD, at the 18th annual Current Concepts in Ophthalmology meeting in Baltimore.

"Ectasia is one of the most feared postoperative complications of LASIK," said Dr. Behrens, cornea surgeon and researcher at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.