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Alcohol- vs hypertonic saline-assisted laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy
Rossen Hazarbassanov1, Oded Ben-Haim, David Varssano
1American Lasers Medical Center, Rishon Le-Zion, Israel.
Archives of Ophthalmology (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)
|February 16, 2005
Summary
Hypertonic saline-assisted LASEK (HS-LASEK) shows comparable accuracy and faster healing than alcohol-assisted LASEK (A-LASEK). HS-LASEK may be a preferable alternative due to alcohol
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Refractive Surgery
Background:
- Laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy (LASEK) is a refractive surgical procedure.
- Different agents are used to facilitate epithelial removal during LASEK.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the predictability and safety of hypertonic saline-assisted LASEK (HS-LASEK) with alcohol-assisted LASEK (A-LASEK).
Main Methods:
- A randomized study comparing HS-LASEK (30 eyes) and A-LASEK (22 eyes).
- Postoperative assessments included visual acuity, refraction, corneal topography, and confocal microscopy.
- Follow-up occurred at 1 day, 5 days, 2 weeks, and 1 month.
Main Results:
- HS-LASEK demonstrated similar or better refractive accuracy compared to A-LASEK.
- Best-corrected visual acuity was superior in the HS-LASEK group at all time points.
- While epithelial defects were larger in the HS-LASEK group, they healed faster, and subepithelial scarring was less pronounced.
Conclusions:
- HS-LASEK offers good postoperative accuracy and safety.
- Given potential epithelial toxicity of alcohol, HS-LASEK presents a potentially superior alternative for refractive surgery.