Use of peripheral chatter lines for free-flap alignment during LASIK

Abstract

To report a case in which an improperly rotated free flap was successfully repositioned using peripheral chatter lines as a reference. A 30-year-old woman with irregular astigmatism as the result of an improperly rotated free flap during LASIK underwent repositioning of the corneal flap correspondingly along the chatter lines. Best spectacle-corrected visual acuity improved from 20/100 to 20/20 following the procedure. Corneal topography showed improvement in the astigmatism and the Placido disk pattern. When marks on a free flap are obscured during LASIK, periodic chatter lines can be used for realignment if no other landmarks are available.