RUPTURED GLOBES FOLLOWING RADIAL AND HEXAGONAL KERATOTOMY SURGERY

Objective: To ascertain if cases of radial keratotomy wound rupture we re occurring and whether the globes ruptured through the corneal incis ions. Design: Cases of traumatic ruptured globe after incisional corne al refractive surgery were collected from ophthalmologists and from pe er-reviewed and other ophthalmic literature. Results: Twenty-eight hum an eyes (eight previously unreported) are known to have ruptured throu gh refractive corneal incisions in activities of daily living (n=12), assault (n=7), motor vehicle accidents (n=5), and sports (n=4). Two pa tients died of their injuries. Of the remaining 26 ruptured eyes, eigh t (31%) recovered 20/40 or better visual acuity. Six eyes (23%) were t otally blinded, six (23%) were legally blinded, and six (23%) had best corrected visual acuity of 20/40 to 20/100 despite multiple surgical procedures. Conclusions: As radial keratotomy becomes more popular, th e pool of patients who may experience traumatic ruptured globe will gr ow. Every patient who has had radial keratotomy should be aware that t he surgery has weakened the eye(s).