Safety and Effectiveness of Thin-flap LASIK Using a Femtosecond Laser and Microkeratome in the Correction of High Myopia in Chinese Patients

Journal of Refractive Surgery  Vol. 26   No. 2   February 2010

Haiyan Li, PhD, MD; Tong Sun, MD; Ming Wang, PhD, MD and Jialiang Zhao, PhD, MD

PURPOSE

To establish safety and effectiveness of thin-flap LASIK using a femtosecond laser and microkeratome in correcting high myopia in Chinese patients.

METHODS

Two hundred seventy-four eyes of 148 Chinese patients with high myopia whose spherical equivalent refraction (SE) ranged from –6.12 to –15.75 diopters (D) received thin-flap LASIK with the VISX S4 IR excimer laser system. Corneal flaps were created with a femtosecond laser (15-kHz IntraLase, 134 eyes of 76 patients, target flap thickness 100 µm) and Moria M2 microkeratome (90-µm head, 140 eyes of 72 patients, target flap thickness 110 µm). Clinical outcomes were assessed with uncorrected (UCVA) and best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), manifest refraction, wavefront aberrometry, Schirmer tests, and tear break-up time (TBUT) at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 and 3 months postoperatively.

RESULTS

At 3 months, both groups showed comparable clinical outcomes in most parameters assessed, including the percent of postoperative UCVA better than or equal to preoperative BSCVA (P=.642), mean residual spherical equivalent refraction (P=.448), mean Schirmer test (P=.950), and mean TBUT (P=.867). Postoperative coma, trefoil, and spherical aberration were similar in both groups (P=.202, P=.898, and P=.890, respectively). Both groups had a similar percent of eyes with a change of SE of <1.00 D (P=.284).

CONCLUSIONS

Thin-flap LASIK with a femtosecond laser and microkeratome are both safe and effective for the correction of high myopia in Chinese patients. Femtosecond laser shows similar predictability, stability, and induction of higher order aberrations to the microkeratome. [J Refract Surg. 2010;26:99-106.]

doi:10.3928/1081597X-20100121-05

AUTHORS

From the Department of Ophthalmology, Wang Vision 3D Cataract and LASIK Center, Nashville, Tenn (Wang); and the Department of Ophthalmology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (Zhao).

The authors have no commercial, financial, or proprietary interest in the materials presented herein.

Correspondence: Haiyan Li, PhD, MD, No. 1286 Hongqiao Rd, Shanghai, China 200336. Tel: 86 137 64523896; Fax: 86 021 62190332; E-mail: lhypumc@hotmail.com

Received: February 11, 2008; Accepted: February 10, 2009

Posted online: March 18, 2009

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