Femtosecond laser-assisted laser in situ keratomileusis versus photorefractive keratectomy: Effect on ocular surface condition.

PURPOSE: To compare ocular surface characteristics in eyes after femtosecond laser-assisted laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) or photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).

SETTING: Centro de Oftalmologia Barraquer, Barcelona, Spain.

DESIGN: Prospective comparative observational study.

METHODS: Patients with myopia who had femtosecond laser-assisted LASIK or PRK were included. Tear osmolarity, the Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire, Schirmer I, corneal sensitivity, tear breakup time (TBUT), and corneal fluorescein staining were evaluated preoperatively and 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for temporal intragroup analysis, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for intergroup comparisons.

RESULTS: The study comprised 44 patients (44 eyes) with myopia. Comparison of the parameters between the femtosecond laser-assisted LASIK group (22 eyes) and the PRK group (22 eyes) showed a similar temporal progression postoperatively. Compared with the preoperative evaluation, corneal sensitivity decreased after 3 months (P = .002 and P = .02, respectively) and 6 months (P = .03 and P = .04, respectively). The TBUT reached the highest mean value after 12 months (P = .01 and P = .04, respectively), and tear osmolarity was slightly increased after 1 year, although the mean values remained within the normal range (P = .01 and P = .04, respectively). The only difference between the 2 groups was lower corneal sensitivity in the femtosecond laser-assisted LASIK group after 3 months (P = .02). The ocular surface condition could be considered clinically unaltered after 1 year in both groups.

CONCLUSION: Femtosecond laser-assisted LASIK and PRK techniques seemed to be safe for the ocular surface condition and to have a similar effect on it.