Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate the changes of corneal topography and high-order wavefront aberration (WA) after femtosecond laser assisted clear corneal incision (CCI) for cataract surgery.
Methods :
Twenty patients (20 eyes) have been operated for cataract removal and were randomized in two groups. In the study group (10 eyes), a three-plane CCI was performed by Intralase iFS 150 KHz (Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., CA); in the control group (10 eyes), manual single-angled CCI was performed using disposable knives. Manifest refraction, simulated keratometry (Ksim), corneal curvature at the site of CCI and high-order WA at 3.5 and 6.0 mm pupils were evaluated and compared between groups during 6 months follow-up.
Results :
One week after surgery, the mean change of Ksim values from preoperatively was ≤0.7 D in both groups and it returned toward preoperative values after 3 and 6 months in the study and control groups respectively. At 1 week, the mean curvature value at the site of the incision flattened by 5.62±0.63 D (P<0.05) and 7.07±1.53 D (P<0.01) in the study and control group respectively; it gradually steepened toward the preoperative values during 6 months follow-up. The high-order WA did not significantly change over 3.5 mm pupil during the follow up in both groups; at 6.0 mm pupil, the high-order WA increased during the first week in both groups but significant values were found only in the control group (P<0.001).
Conclusions :
Femtosecond laser assisted CCI did not significantly impact central corneal curvature and high-order WA. The high-order WA increased significantly after manual CCI over scotopic pupil during the early postoperative period (1 week); this increase was likely due to the difference in the CCI geometry between the two techniques. Edemization of the corneal incision, which was not requested after femtosecond laser CCI, was always needed after manual CCI in order to obtain a stable sealing. Differences in the postoperative incision healing could also explain the results from the curvature analysis at the site of the incision.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.