Abstract
Purpose:
Poor corneal sensation is a critical factor in the development of post-LASIK dry eye. The purpose of this study is to compare recovery of corneal sensation following standard versus inverted side-cut LASIK flaps. Prior studies have suggested that inverted side-cut LASIK flaps may have increased flap adhesion post-operatively for better wound healing, more stability compared to microkeratome flaps, and improved apposition of severed nerves.
Methods:
120 eyes of 60 patients underwent LASIK - one eye with a 150 kHz femtosecond laser using a 130 degree inverted side-cut and the fellow eye with a 60 kHz femtosecond laser using a conventional 70 degree side-cut. All eyes underwent wavefront-guided ablation with the AMO CustomVue S4 excimer laser. Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometry measured corneal sensation pre-operatively and at post-operative months one, three, six and twelve.
Results:
Cochet-Bonnet values were equal pre-operatively. Post-operative Cochet-Bonnet values were greater with inverted versus conventional side-cuts with means of 14.5 > 13.2 (p = 0.08) at 1 month, 24.9 > 18.4 (p < 0.01) at 3 months, 51.2 > 42.6 (p < 0.01) at 6 months, and 59.8 > 58.3 (p < 0.01) at 12 months, respectively.
Conclusions:
Eyes treated with an inverted side-cut had a faster recovery of corneal sensation compared to eyes treated with a conventional side-cut.
Keywords: 683 refractive surgery: LASIK •
679 refractive surgery: comparative studies •
486 cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye