Myopia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Myopia, including details on treatment, prevention, causes, correction.

Ten-year follow-up of photorefractive keratectomy for myopia of more than -6 diopters.

Alió JL, Muftuoglu O, Ortiz D, Artola A, Pérez-Santonja JJ, de Luna GC, Abu-Mustafa SK, Garcia MJ

Vissum Department of Refractive Surgery and Division of Ophthalmology, Instituto Oftalmológico de Alicante, Miguel Hernandez University, Medical School, Alicante, Spain. jlalio@oftalio.com

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term outcomes of excimer laser myopic photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for myopia higher than -6 diopters (D). DESIGN: A long-term (10-year) follow-up retrospective, interventional case series. METHODS: The study included 267 eyes of 191 patients with myopia with spherical equivalent (SE) of more than -6 D treated with myopic PRK at the Instituto Oftalmológico de Alicante, Alicante, Spain, using the VISX 20/20 excimer laser (Santa Clara, California, USA). All patients were evaluated three months, one year, two years, five years, and 10 years after surgery. The main outcome measures were refractive predictability and stability, mean corneal keratometry, topographical cylinder, safety, efficacy, stability of visual acuity, and postoperative complications. RESULTS: At 10 years, 156 (58%) of 267 eyes were within +/- 1.00 D and 209 (78%) were within +/- 2.00 D. One hundred and twenty-four eyes (46.4%) underwent retreatments because of overcorrection, regression, or both. The mean SE decreased (myopic regression) in eyes that did not undergo retreatment, with a mean magnitude of -1.33 +/- 2.0 D over 10 years (-1.13 +/- 0.20 D per year). One hundred and twenty-one (48.3%) of 267 eyes demonstrated increase in best spectacle-corrected visual acuity, and only eight eyes lost lines of vision because of cataract and posterior segment-related complications. The mean corneal haze score decreased gradually from 0.48 +/- 0.69 at three months to 0.09 +/- 0.33 at 10 years. CONCLUSIONS: PRK for myopia of more than -6 D is a safe and effective procedure in the long-term.

Published 24 December 2007 in Am J Ophthalmol, 145(1): 37-45.
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