Dehiscence of radial keratotomy wounds without globe rupture following explosion injury.

PURPOSE: To report a case of explosive trauma to a patient with a history of radial keratotomy (RK), which resulted in multiple wound dehiscences but not globe rupture.

METHODS

A 29-year-old male underwent radial keratotomy 1 year before he sustained facial trauma from a gasoline tank explosion. Corneal abrasions were treated with copious irrigation, topical antibiotics, corticosteroids, and scopolamine. He did not have a ruptured globe in either eye.

RESULTS

The incision sites from radial keratotomy had evidence of anterior dehiscence in both eyes. One month following the injury, the patient had corrected visual acuity of 20/20-1 in the right eye and 20/25+1 in the left eye. At that time, the RK wounds were well healed with minimal irregularity over the incision sites.

CONCLUSION

This case demonstrates the excellent recovery of visual acuity in a patient with a partial thickness traumatic wound rupture 12 months following radial keratotomy.