A pathological study on rabbit corneas after laser in situ keratomileusis

PURPOSE: To investigate pathological changes in rabbit corneas after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed LASIK on rabbit corneas to theoretically correct 10.0 diopters of myopia. The corneas were studied pathologically at day 0, and 3 days, 1 week, 3 weeks, 4 months, and 9 months after LASIK. RESULTS: At 3 days after LASIK, keratocytes in the ablated area changed morphologically into fibroblastic cells. And the structure of collagen fibers in the stroma was broken. These changes had disappeared almost entirely at 4 months after LASIK. There were no proliferative changes in the stroma of the ablated cornea 9 months after LASIK. No significant changes were observed in the endothelium. CONCLUSIONS: The damage to rabbit corneas induced by LASIK was mild to moderate under the present experimental conditions.