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Abstract

Diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK) is an inflammatory condition that occurs in up to 4 % of LASIK treatments. It is characterized by the presence of white granular noninfectious sterile infiltrates in the LASIK flap interface. The condition usually presents postoperatively on days 1–5 and typically starts at the periphery of the flap and progresses centrally. The syndrome is also known as “Sands of the Sahara,” as the shifting wavelike progression of the cellular infiltrates simulates shifting sands. The syndrome was first described by Maloney in 1998 and later classified into stages by Linebarger et al. in 2000 based on the location and severity of inflammation [1, 2].

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References

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Correspondence to Michael Weisberg MD .

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Weisberg, M. (2015). DLK Early. In: Alió, J., Azar, D., Abbouda, A., Aswad, A. (eds) Difficult and Complicated Cases in Refractive Surgery. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-55238-0_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-55238-0_35

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