SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF RECURRENT CORNEAL EROSION WITH ND-YAG ANTERIOR STROMAL PUNCTURE

I used a new technique to create anterior corneal stromal punctures for the treatment of traumatic recurrent corneal erosions that had not responded to conventional therapy. Three patients with such erosions within the visual axis were successfully treated by using multiple applications of the Nd:YAG laser set at energy levels between 1.8 and 2.2 mJ. One of these patients had previous stromal puncture with a bent 25-gauge needle. The erosions of all patients healed without complications and have remained symptom-free for four to six months. Compared with needle puncture, the laser punctures were more reproducible, shallow, and translucent.