One-Year Outcomes of Femtosecond Laser-Assisted LASIK Following Previous Radial Keratotomy.

PURPOSE: To report the 1-year outcomes of LASIK in patients with previous radial keratotomy using a novel femtosecond laser platform.

METHODS: The charts of 27 eyes of 18 patients who underwent femtosecond laser-assisted LASIK with the WaveLight FS200 laser (Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Fort Worth, TX) for consecutive hyperopia following previous radial keratotomy were retrospectively reviewed at a single private practice location. The preoperative characteristics, intraoperative details, and postoperative results were evaluated.

RESULTS: All 27 eyes had successful femtosecond laser flap creation without significant intraoperative or postoperative complications. Uncorrected visual acuity significantly improved postoperatively to 0.13 ± 0.13 logMAR at 12 months of follow-up (P < .0001). Postoperative spherical equivalent averaged 0.11 ± 0.53 diopters. None of the patients lost any lines of corrected distance visual acuity during the postoperative period.

CONCLUSIONS: The femtosecond laser technique described by this study resulted in a safe and effective way to deliver LASIK following previous radial keratotomy. Future investigations are needed to further validate the outcomes of this study.