LASER IN-SITU KERATOMILEUSIS FOR MYOPIA AND ASTIGMATISM - 6 MONTH RESULTS

Purpose: To evaluate the visual and refractive results of laser in sit u keratomileusis (LASIK) for mild to moderate myopia with or without a stigmatism. Setting: Barnet-Dulaney Eye Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Methods: Data were prospectively collected on 124 consecutive eyes ha ving LASIK over 12 weeks. Eyes with a preoperative spherical equivalen t (SE) from -1.35 to -10.00 diopters (D) (mean -4.81 D +/- 2.21 [SD]) and cylinder from 0 to 5.00 D (mean 1.12 +/- 1.12 D) were entered in t he study. Thirty-one eyes had spherical corrections. Ninety-three eyes had spherocylinder corrections; preoperative astigmatism in these eye s ranged from 0.50 to 5.00 D (mean 1.47 +/- 1.09 D). Surgery included creation of a corneal flap using an automated microkeratome with a 160 mu m plate followed by photoablation on the exposed stromal bed. Phot oablation was performed using five zones varying from 5.0 to 6.6 mm in eyes with 6.25 D of myopia or less and with five passes at a 5.0 mm z one in eyes with 6.50 D of myopia or more. Astigmatism was corrected u sing a single-pass ablation through a 6.0 mm slit of varying diameter. Results: Six month follow-up was obtained in 89 eyes (72%). Ail eyes were completely re-epithelialized by the first postoperative day. Unco rrected visual acuity was 20/40 or better in 81% of eyes at 1 day and in 91% at 6 months, At 1 6 months, the mean SE was -0.35 +/- 0.77 D; 8 3% were within +/-1.00 D of piano. Postoperative astigmatism in the 93 eyes having cylinder correction ranged from 0 to 1.22 D (mean 0.38 +/ - 0.42 D). No eye lost more than two lines of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity. Three eyes (2%) required surgical intervention for cap problems. Visually significant corneal haze was not observed. Conclus ion: In eyes with myopia with or without astigmatism, LASIK provided r apid visual recovery with satisfactory visual and refractive outcomes. The effect of LASIK on visual function (night glare, contrast sensiti vity) awaits further study.