guttata and RK surgery

I was told about 5 yars ago that I have guttata.
About 20 years ago I had RK surgery before Lasiks and that one of the results of this surgery is guttata
I wasn't aware of this at the time of the surgery or I might not have had it done.  I'm now 61 and have had no other problems except vitrous shrinking and related floaters.
Has the RK surgery been the likely cause of the guttata and since I haven't had any problems up to this point how likely is it that it will progress into a real problem.
Thanks
Charlie

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

Guttata is frequently associated with a process called Fuch's dystrophy and tends to run in some families.  It is unlikely that it was caused by either RK or Lasik surgery.  It does tend to be progressive and may eventually cause blurred vision from corneal swelling (especially upon awakening in the morning).  Cataract surgery might also push this process over the edge and make the symptoms appear earlier (so you should not wait till your cataracts are too dense before getting them operated on as harder lenses are more likely to do this).  There are treatments out there though.  Have your ophthalmologist assess what grade of guttae you have and discuss your risk of vision being affected.  Most people with mild guttae are never effected by it visually.

HV