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Haze tops post-PRK complications among military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan

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Lt. Col. Charles D. Reilly

SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. Air Force personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who underwent photorefractive keratectomy suffered no traumatic flap dislocations in a 1-year period.

"The bottom line is a remarkable record of safety," Lt. Col. Charles D. Reilly, MD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting here.

Haze was the most common post-PRK complication. However, the overall incidence of haze was still low, with 8 patients presenting in the 1-year interval. Of those 8 patients, 4 patients had to leave the theater and return home for treatment, he said.

"To put that in perspective, we had many more patients return for basketball injuries than for PRK," Dr. Reilly said.

Most complications resulted from patients who underwent PRK at home on leave and returned to action within 2 weeks, an interval considered too early. The U.S. Army requires troops who get refractive surgery to wait 90 days before redeployment, Dr. Reilly said.