Severe corneal epithelial sloughing during laser in situ keratomileusis as a presenting sign for silent epithelial basement membrane dystrophy.

Purpose: To report the occurrence of large intraoperative epithelial sloughing during laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) as a first diagnostic sign for silent epithelial basement membrane dystrophy (EBMD).

Setting: Refractive Surgery and Cornea Unit, Alicante Institute of Ophthalmology, Alicante, Spain.

Methods: In this retrospective case series, the medical records of all patients with large corneal epithelial sloughing/defects during LASIK from January 1995 to December 2004 were reviewed.