Comparative study of Epi-LASIK and LASIK for myopic astigmatism

Abstract

AIM: To analyze the effects of epipolis laser in situ keratomileusis(Epi-LASIK)and laser in situ keratomileusis(LASIK)for treatment of myopic astigmatism. METHODS: For treatment of myopic astigmatism, 32 patients(64 eyes)treated by Epi-LASIK and 63 patients(126 eyes)received LASIK. By their degree of astigmatism, the eyes were divided into Group Ⅰ(-0.25～-2.75)DC and Group Ⅱ(-3.0～-5.0)DC. During the 6-month follow-up, the early effects of the two operations were observed and compared in terms of uncorrected visual acuity(UCVA), best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), residual astigmatism, corneal healing, intraocular pressure(IOP), corneal topography. RESULTS: In Group Ⅱ, UCVA better than 20/20 was achieved in 87.5% of the eyes subjected to Epi-LASIK and in 63.3% of the eyes subjected to LASIK, with significant difference between them(χ2=4.055, Pt=2.672, Pt=2.234, PCONCLUSION: For treatment of high astigmatism(≥-3.00D), Epi-LASIK is more effective and predictive than LASIK.

Keywords

• epipolis laser <i>in situ</i> keratomileusis
• laser <i>in situ</i> keratomileusis
• astigmatism