Pregnancy-induced keractesia - A case series with a review of the literature

We report a case series of patients who developed post-laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) ectasia or had a progression of keractesia during pregnancy. We reviewed the medical records of 12 patients (20 eyes) who had reported deterioration of vision during their pregnancy and were diagnosed with keractesia. All 12 patients had experienced symptoms of deterioration of vision between 2 months to 1 year of onset of their pregnancies. A total of 17 eyes of 10 patients had developed post-refractive surgery keractesia. Sixteen of these had undergone LASIK and one had undergone femtosecond lenticule extraction (FLEX). Three eyes of two patients had an exacerbation of keratoconus during pregnancy while one patient had associated hypothyroidism. The results indicate that the hormonal changes that take place in pregnant women can affect the biomechanical stability of the cornea and may trigger the onset of keractesia.