Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012:6:1775-83.
doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S37384. Epub 2012 Nov 2.

Laser refractive surgery in diabetic patients: a review of the literature

Leopoldo Spadea  1 , Maria Pia Paroli
Affiliations

Laser refractive surgery in diabetic patients: a review of the literature

Leopoldo Spadea et al. Clin Ophthalmol. 2012.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current recommendations regarding laser refractive surgery in patients with diabetes mellitus and to assess whether these patients make appropriate candidates for laser vision correction.

Methods: A literature search was conducted to identify current research on the ocular complications of diabetes and original publications on laser refractive surgery in diabetic patients.

Results: Diabetes was associated with several ocular complications. Initially the US Food and Drug Administration listed these complications as justification to advise against refractive surgery in patients with diabetes. However, recent studies on laser in situ keratomileusis in diabetic patients indicate that this procedure may be safe in diabetic patients with very well controlled systemic disease and no ocular manifestations.

Conclusion: Laser refractive surgery may be performed safely in a very selected group of patients with diabetes.

Keywords: diabetes; laser in situ keratomileusis; photorefractive keratectomy; refractive surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biomicroscopic image of the right eye of a 31-year-old female patient with type 1 diabetes. (A) One week after myopic photorefractive keratectomy. The central cornea presents a large area of de-epithelialization. (B) Six months after photorefractive keratectomy. The re-epithelialization is complete but is present as a dense linear central scar. (C) One year after photorefractive keratectomy. The linear central scar is considerably reduced but is still visible.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Biomicroscopic image of the right eye of a 31-year-old female patient with type 1 diabetes. (A) One week after myopic photorefractive keratectomy. The central cornea presents a large area of de-epithelialization. (B) Six months after photorefractive keratectomy. The re-epithelialization is complete but is present as a dense linear central scar. (C) One year after photorefractive keratectomy. The linear central scar is considerably reduced but is still visible.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fraunfelder FW, Rich LF. Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis complications in diabetes mellitus. Cornea. 2002;21:246–248. - PubMed
    1. Cobo-Soriano R, Beltran J, Baviera J. LASIK outcomes in patients with underlying systemic contraindications. Ophthalmology. 2006;113:1118–1124. - PubMed
    1. United States Food and Drug Administration. Medical devices. When is LASIK not for me? [Accessed July 18, 2012]. Available from: http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/productsandmedicalprocedures/surgeryan....
    1. American Academy of Ophthalmology Refractive Errors Panel. Refractive Errors. San Francisco, CA: American Academy of Ophthalmology; 2002.
    1. Leem HS, Lee KJ, Shin KC. Central corneal thickness and corneal endothelial cell changes caused by contact lens use in diabetic patients. Yonsei Med J. 2011;52:322–325. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources