What is haze? (Posted: jan 2005)

Haze is scarring of the cornea, producing blurring or cloudiness in the vision.

What causes haze and which surgery(-ies) is it associated with? (posted: apr 2003)

Haze is primarily associated with PRK (and other surface ablation techniques to a lesser extent), particularly when correcting large amounts of myopia. It is much less common in LASIK particularly with current generation lasers (vs. older broadbeam lasers where central islands and haze occurred more frequently).

What are the potential results to the patient? (posted: apr 2003)

The impact on vision depends on severity and location. Central haze will reduce the best-corrected visual acuity.

How is it diagnosed? (posted: apr 2003)

Standard slit-lamp examination.

How is it treated? (posted: apr 2003)

Severe haze is sometimes treated with PTK, however, this carries the risk of substantial overcorrection and so such surgical treatments are often avoided unless hazing is severe.

Where can I get more information about haze? (posted: jan 2005)

Click here for Encyclopedia entry, which may have additional articles and links.