Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment after LASIK for myopia

PURPOSE: To report the characteristics and incidence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in myopic eyes after LASIK. METHODS: The medical records of 49 patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment after LASIK were reviewed. The incidence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment after LASIK was determined and potential risk factors were evaluated. RESULTS: LASIK was performed on 59,424 eyes with spherical equivalent refraction (SE) ranging from -0.75 to -26.50 diopters (D) (mean: -6.10 +/- 3.5 D). Forty-nine eyes developed rhegmatogenous retinal detachment between 1.5 and 76 months (mean: 27.3 +/- 21.7 months) after LASIK. The mean preoperative refractive error in these eyes was -8.6 +/- 3.9 D. Mean age of these patients was -38.2 +/- 11.2 years. Thirty-five (71.4%) patients were male. The cumulative incidence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment was 0.082% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.061-0.109), and the yearly incidence was 0.032% (95% CI: 0.023-0.042) after LASIK. The most frequent location of the retinal breaks was the superior temporal quadrant (22.7%). Male sex, older age, and higher preoperative myopia were significantly related to the incidence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment after LASIK (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of this study, following the treatment of high-risk peripheral retinal lesions, LASIK did not appear to be an additional risk factor for the development of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment after LASIK in our patients; however, patients should be informed of the possibility of this complication as a consequence of myopia. Patients who are male, older in age, and have high myopia preoperatively may be at increased risk.