[In vitro studies of refractive corneal surgery using the excimer laser with quartz fiber]

With the application of different approved drugs, UV absorption of the cornea at 308 nm could be increased by more than three orders of magnitude, which provided effective shielding of intraocular structures against 308 nm excimer laser radiation. The width of the thermal damage zones at the edges of 308 nm excimer laser excisions was reduced to a few micrometers by our treatment. The ablation threshold was reduced by this treatment and the ablation rates were increased by a factor of three to five. In principle, these results offer the possibility of performing refractive corneal surgery with excimer lasers at 308 nm via quartz fibers.