ABSTRACT
Excimer keratectomy has been effectively used to correct mild to moderate myopia (1-4), astigmatism (5-7), and hyperopia (8-10). However, such laser ablations appear to activate keratocytes leading to their proliferation (11,12). A number of reports have documented irregularities in basement membrane configuration (13,14), the presence of vacuoles in and around keratocytes (11,12), and disorganization in the lamellar structure of the corneal stroma (11,12,14,15). These changes have been theorized to be responsible for corneal light scatter and the cause of corneal haze formation and refractive regression (16,17).
