lasik after scleral buckling surgery

purpose: to compare the safety, efficacy, and visual results of laser in situ keratomileusis (lasik) in eyes with and without previous scleral buckling surgery in the same individuals. methods: in a prospective clinical trial, 14 eyes of 7 patients with myopic refractive error and history of scleral buckling in one eye, underwent lasik surgery in both eyes according to a standard surgical protocol. uncorrected visual acuity (ucva), best corrected visual acuity (bcva), refraction, orbscan topography, and pachymetry were recorded 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after lasik. eyes with previous scleral buckling were named rd group and the fellow eyes without any previous ocular surgery were named non-rd group.                     results: lasik was performed without any complication. no patient developed a new rd or significant vitreoretinal changes during one year of follow-up. there was no decrease in bcva in any of the eyes. in the rd group, mean spherical equivalent (mse) before lasik was -7.67 d and was reduced  to -0.17, -0.87, -1.37, and -1.89 d at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after  lasik, respectively. in the non-rd group, mse before lasik was -5.25 d which was reduced to +0.05,   -0.17, -0.37, and -0.57 d - at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after lasik, respectively. differences between the two groups were statistically significant at 3, 6, and, 12 months after operation. myopic regression between 1 and 12 months after lasik in the rd group (-1.71 d) was greater than the non-rd group (-0.62 d). (p=0.019) mean increase in central corneal thickness during this period had no significant difference between the two groups. corneal power increase in the rd group (2.44 d) was more than the non-rd group (1.01 d). (p=0.001) conclusion: lasik may be considered for treatment of myopia in eyes with previous rd surgery. although it seems to be safe in these eyes, it is not as effective as lasik in eyes without previous rd surgery. myopic regression seems to be more pronounced in these eyes.