Do you have any info. on AFB of the cornea? I had Lasik surgery and acquired AFB.

Are you saying that youhave an infection with mycobacterium? AFB genreally means Acid-Fast Bacteria. Acid-Fast is a stain that is positive for mycobacteria.
There are a number of case reports of patients with infections with mycobacteria. This infection can be very, very serious, as there are reports of patients having serious vision loss from this infection.
can you please provide more information so that I can not whether I am on target as to what is going on with you. Please provide any information that you want, and I will be happy to comment further.

best of luck

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

Dr. Trattler,

Yes, it's a mycrobacteria. I had to go to Emory in Atlanta and have my flap lifted and irragated by a cornea specialist. The culture grew out AFB. I am on Amakacin, Quixin and prednisone drops. I have searched the internet for info. and can find nothing! If you have info or know where I can get some please let me know. Thanks, anne lee

Dr. Trattler,

I am still interseted in any info. you have on AFB. The Dr. at Emory said he was 100% sure it was NOT a contaminate from the lab. No one can tell me how or why this happened. I just want to know if there are any other cases and the outcome. Thanks, Anne Lee

I know of one other case of AFB infection post-LASIK. One of my colleagues shared the details of it with me. Ocurred 2 weeks after an enhancement. That was the only case of it that day even though 25 other cases were done same day in same facility. Cultures done at the laser center were negative. The patient went swimming in a lake about 1 week postop and I suspect that's where the infection was picked up. Unfortunately it has not responded to treatment well and the flap has melted. Patient may require a corneal transplant. Hope you have had better results. I usually tell patients no swimming for a week postop. I've now added, no swimming in a lake for a month.

Steven Corwin, MD
Atlanta, GA

Ann, this might interest you. The California Dept. of Health Services is investigating a small cluster of atypical mycobacterial corneal infections that occurred in April and is gathering info on cases that might be linked. If you have had one in the last 5 months, please contact Kevin Winthrop, MD at .

Dr. Corwin,
My eye is much better, no vision loss. I am having these "fatty deposits" it looks like egg white come up every so often on the white part of my eye. This started happening after my Lasik, and only in the eye with the AFB. Its very irritating and scratchy. What causes this???? What can help it???
Thanks
Anne Lee

I believe what you are talking about is a pingueculum but obviously I can't tell exactly from your description. You may want to look up pingueculum on the web and see if the description matches what you are experiencing or alternatively have a dr. look at it and give you a diagnosis. If it is a pingueculum, nothing to worry about. However, they often will get irritated easily and there are a number of different drops that can be tried to alleviate your symptoms. Once you have a definite diagnosis, let me know and I can give you some suggestions for treatment.

Steven Corwin, MD
Atlanta, GA