Photorefractive Keratectomy With Femtosecond Laser Shows Excellent Results

Penetrating keratoplasty using a femtosecond laser to create surgical incisions in a zigzag pattern appears bio-mechanically stable, according to a study by researchers in California published in the December issue of Ophthalmology.

Patients treated with the technique showed "excellent" wound closure and integrity, and had only moderate astigmatism within a few months after operation, the authors noted.

Marjan Farid, MD, and colleagues reviewed outcomes from full-thickness PK performed in 13 eyes of 13 patients. In all cases, the surgeon used the IntraLase FS femtosecond laser (Advanced Medical Optics) to create zigzag-patterned incisions in both the donor graft and the recipient cornea, according to the study.

These zigzag incisions were created in a consistent pattern, matching the donor and host.

In eight eyes with the potential for full vision, seven eyes (87.5%) had a best corrected visual acuity of 20/30 or better at 3 months, and one eye had improved to 20/25 at 6 months follow-up.

In 3-9 month post-operative followup, the researchers found that astigmatism averaged 3 D or less at all follow-up points beginning at 1 month postop, with a maximum of 4.25 D of astigmatism seen from 3 months out to final follow-up.

The authors reported that optical coherence tomography images showed excellent anterior and posterior wound alignment in all cases.


Filed under Eye Surgery, Eye Treatment, Femtosecond Laser, Photorefractive Keratectomy, Refractive Eye Surgery

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