Radial Keratotomy in 1998, Lasik in 2002, Followed by Ectasia, has Six Years Good Vision with GVR Scleral Lens

This patient underwent Radial Keratotomy (R-K) surgery in both eyes in 1988. Several years later her vision began to deteriorate and in the following years was not able to obtain satisfactory vision with either eyeglasses or contact lenses. In 2002, she visited another corneal surgeon who encouraged her to undergo LASIK surgery to correct her distorted corneas created by the R-K surgery. Shortly afterwards, a condition known as post-LASIK corneal ectasia took place. This condition is a risk factor in patients who have undergone LASIK surgery, however, the risk of this developing is much greater in patients who have undergone prior refractive surgeries such as R-K. Corneal Ectasia involves a protrusion of the front surface of the eye (the cornea). This patient’s cornea was not only extremely distorted, she also suffered from chronic dry eyes and ocular pain. Due to the significant pain she had been experiencing and her inability to obtain functional vision with eyeglasses, this patient visited our office 6 years ago seeking help. 6 years ago we fit this patient with GVR Scleral lenses which have provided her with clear, stable vision. Today, this patient came in for her yearly comprehensive eye and lens evaluation. Both of her corneas have remained stable and she is seeing clearly and comfortably with all day lens wear. Below the photo of this patient with me can be seen photos of her right and left eye with her Scleral lenses over her scarred corneas. If you look carefully you can see the R-K incisions. Next to these photos is a photo of her right cornea without a lens in place. A dye was instilled onto the front surface of her eye to demonstrate the open R-K incisions along with the LASIK flap. The straight lines in the cornea are the R-K incisions which still remain open after all these years. One can tell they are open because the dye can be seen within the corneal incisions. The round circular line going around the periphery of the cornea is the LASIK flap incision. This patient will need to be seen at least once each year to make certain that infection does not occur and that her corneas remain clear and stable.