Pregnancy link to keratectasia

Women who become pregnant after Lasik refractive surgery may be at risk of keratectasia (corneal thinning) for anything up to nine years after their procedure.

At a recent meeting of corneal specialists in Rome, Dr Farhad Hafezi of University Hospitals of Geneva presented a series of case studies showing corneal decompensation during pregnancy in women, all of whom had previously undergone refractive surgery.

'The interesting concept is that all of them developed ectasia after pregnancy started,' Hafezi said.

He added he now preferred not to offer Lasik to young women who were borderline candidates and wished to become pregnant in the next two to four years.