To report a patient who presented with epithelial ingrowth caused by viral
keratoconjunctivitis 3 months after
LASIK surgery. A 41-year-old man presented with decreased visual acuity in the right eye, which had developed about 3 weeks before. He had undergone
LASIK surgery 3 months prior without complications. Two months after the surgery, he was treated for
viral conjunctivitis. During the treatment period, filamentary
keratitis developed, and a therapeutic
bandage contact lens was applied for 2 weeks. Upon presentation, examination revealed a corrected visual acuity of 20/100 and irregular epithelial sheets under the edematous flap. The flap was lifted, and the in-grown epithelium was removed. The flap was repositioned with double continuous 10-0
nylon sutures. Post-operatively, the patient developed a mild diffuse lamellar
keratitis that resolved rapidly with topical
corticosteroid treatment. At 2 months, the corrected visual acuity was 20/20 without interface opacities. As the patient showed no complications prior to
viral conjunctivitis, we suspect that the
viral infection caused
edema of the corneal flap, which caused epithelial ingrowth under the flap. Patients who have
viral conjunctivitis after
LASIK surgery should be examined carefully and managed with consideration of flap complications.