Effect of keratometry on visual outcomes 1 month after hyperopic LASIK

To determine whether preoperative, postoperative, or change in keratometry can be used to predict visual outcomes in hyperopic LASIK.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on hyperopic eyes treated at Optical Express clinics. All eyes were targeted for emmetropia and treated using wavefront-guided LASIK (VISX S4, Abbott Medical Optics [AMO]), with flaps created using a femtosecond laser (IntraLase FS-60 [AMO]). A total of 1659 consecutive eyes of 895 patients met the study inclusion criteria: preoperative sphere > or = 1.00 diopter, complete 1-month follow-up data, and availability of pre- and postoperative keratometry measurements. Factors associated with 1-month visual results were evaluated with multivariate analysis.

Preoperative sphere was strongly correlated with visual outcomes. Higher levels of correction were associated with a greater loss of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), a lower percentage of eyes achieving 20/20 BSCVA, and a lower percentage of eyes achieving 20/20 uncorrected visual acuity. For a given level of preoperative sphere, however, no statistically significant correlation was observed between visual outcomes and either pre- or postoperative keratometry.

Preoperative, calculated postoperative, or 1-month postoperative keratometry values do not correlate with visual acuity outcomes following hyperopic LASIK.