I had lasik performed last Monday, 5/7 and have been extremely blurry ever since. My dr. says that it is due to dry eyes, but he also mentioned that I have some striae (wrinkles) in both eyes when I went to see him yesterday. I didn't think anything of it until I looked at this website and others and they all say to have the flap lifted and repositioned as soon as possible. So I called my dr. today to tell him of my concerns and he says that there are two different kinds of striae and that the kind I have will go away on their own. I cannot find any info on different kinds and what the treatment is. Could someone please tell me if they have heard of this and if they have dealt with it? He also says that I have Lasik Induced Neuroepithelopathy (LNE), which I have not been able to find any info on. Any and all info would be greatly appreciated. I am getting nervous that my vision won't go back to normal.
Thanks,
Christie

Thank you for your question. First LINE is LASIK induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy, and is the medical term for dry eyes after LASIK. Almost everyone gets dry eyes after LASIK, and the key is for you to be treated appropriately for this. This may require punctal pugs, artificial tears, etc.
The key issue is flap striae. The story with striae is that if they are affecting your vision, they generally need to be removed. The longer they stay, the more difficult they are to remove. Determining whether they should be removed may require a second opinion. Sometimes small striae can be presnent and not interfere with vision. But if your vision is not sharp (once your dry eyes are treated), then this would be a clear sign that you may need to have the striae fixed. Again - time is important, because striae are more easily removed when the removal procedure is closer to surgery.
I hope this is helpful. It is hard to answer this type of question without being able to examine your eyes, which is why you should consider a second opinion if you are unsure.

I hope this helps

Best of luck

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

Thank you Dr. Trattler for responding so quickly. My dr. has put in temporary plugs twice now. The first time was in my upper tear ducts and this last Monday in both the upper and lower. My vision has improved a little, but it has never been sharp. I go to see my dr again tomorrow and was wondering if I should push him to lift the flap. He has taken topographies of both my eyes twice since the surgery. He says there are irregularities. My right eye had a number of 2.5 and my left eye had a number of 4.5. He said both of these should be less than 1.5. I don't remember what exactly he called the numbers, but would these indicate striae as well?
Thank you.

Honestly - you are scaring me with your comments. Corneal topography should not be used to determine whether flap striae are visually significant. Let me repeat - the corneal topography is not a test that is useful for making a decision as to whether flap striae are present, and whether flap striae need to be fixed. The irregularity index can be abnormal for a variety of condtions, especially with dry eyes.
You should certainly get a second opinion. As well, your doctor needs to carefully examine your eyes and determine whether striae are present. he needs to analyze whether they are affecting your vision. One piece of evidence might be, for example, that your vision can not be refracted to 20/20. Of course, significant dry eyes can also affect a refraction. I would be happy to help, but I am thousands of miles away.
I hope my explanation is helpful. You should get a second opinion from a surgeon who is very experienced with LASIK.
Best of luck

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

Dr. Trattler,
I wanted to give you an update on my situation and also thank you for your help. One week ago I had my doctor lift the flaps and smooth out the wrinkles. My vision improved but was still hazy. I went back today and he put permanent plugs in my top tear ducts and my vision has improved greatly. I'm still a little blurry, but I think this will get better over time. Again thank you for all of the information you provided.
Christie