Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To investigate the changes of the epithelium and flap after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) measured with optical coherence tomography (OCT) at 1310nm. Methods: Twenty-eight eyes of 14 patients (age: 39.9 ± 8.6 yrs) underwent LASIK. Central corneal epithelial and flap thickness was measured with a real-time OCT system described elsewhere [Radhakrisknan S, et al: Arch Ophthalmol. 2001;119:1179-1185] 1 day, 1 week and 1 month postoperatively. A custom software program was used to process multiple images of each eye at each visit to obtain the results. Results: After surgery, corneal epithelial thickness changed significantly (ANOVA: F(3, 81)=12.3, p<0.001) with insignificant thinning at one day (mean ± SD: 57.8 ± 5.9 µm, p=0.26, compared to baseline:59.9 ± 5.9 µm) and significant thickening at 1 week (60.8 ± 5.8 µm, p=0.04, compared to one day) and 1 month (64.6 ± 6.1 µm, p=0.008 compared to all others). The corneal flap thickness changed significantly (ANOVA: F(2, 54)=4.59, p=0.01) with thickening at 1 week (149.7 ± 24.6 µm, p=0.12) and 1 month (152.7 ± 19.3 µm, p=0.01) compared to one day (143.3 ± 20.6 µm). Conclusions: OCT is a useful tool in thickness measurements of the epithelium, flap and total cornea, particularly post-operatively. The corneal epithelium and flap showed thickening following LASIK during the study period.
Keywords: refractive surgery: LASIK • imaging/image analysis: clinical