Indications, results, and complications of refractive corneal surgery with lasers

The applications of the current laser technology in refractive surgery have developed during the past year. Several techniques to correct ametropia with various laser sources have been proposed and investigated. To date, using the myopic photorefractive keratectomy excimer laser is the most common technique; it has already been performed on more than 100,000 eyes worldwide. Refractive results on large series of patients with long-term follow-up indicate that the technique is safe, effective, and highly predictable in the correction of low to moderate myopia. Concerns about the treatment of high myopia still arise, especially regarding regression toward myopia and stability of achieved refraction; multizone treatments have been proposed to reach better results. The correction of compound myopic astigmatism with the excimer laser seems to be promising, although long-term results on large series are still pending. Among the patients treated, very few complications occurred. We believe that laser technology will play the most important role in refractive surgery in the future.