Femtosecond laser technology (IntraLase, Irvine, CA, USA) has been introduced in corneal surgery, opening a new frontier and providing a new surgical modality. The purpose of this study is to present a series of patients with keratitis after Femtosecond-assisted diagnostic corneal biopsies (FAB).
Four patients with progressive keratitis--despite intensive broad-spectrum topical antimicrobial therapy, or progressive stromal infiltration inaccessible to corneal scrapings--underwent femtosecond-assisted diagnostic corneal biopsy. A corneal specimen was obtained using the Femtosecond laser (IntraLase), including both clinically infected and adjacent non-infected clear corneal tissue. A combination of lamellar and keratoplasty treatment parameters were used.
Corneal specimens of 3 mm diameter and 120 to 200 microm thickness were obtained in all patients. No intra- or early post-operative complications related to the procedure were found. In all patients, adequate specimens were submitted for cultures, smears, and permanent section staining.
In this small case series of patients with undiagnosed keratitis, femtosecond-assisted diagnostic corneal biopsy (FAB) obtained adequate specimens without intra- or early post-operative complications, related to the procedure.