Myopic laser in situ keratomileusis retreatment: Incidence and associations

To determine the factors associated with retreatment after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) for myopic eyes in the modern LASIK era.

Care-Vision Laser Centers, Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Retrospective cohort study.

All cases of myopic LASIK performed between January 2005 and December 2012 were analyzed according to whether they had retreatment refractive surgery.

The study evaluated 9177 right eyes in 9177 consecutive LASIK cases. The mean preoperative subjective spherical equivalent and astigmatism were -3.30 diopters (D) ± 1.53 (SD) (range -0.50 to -12.00 D) and 0.69 ± 0.94 D (range 0.00 to 6.00 D), respectively. Of the eyes, 165 (1.80%) had at least 1 retreatment. Over the course of the study, the 2-year retreatment rate decreased from 2.58% to 0.38% (P < .001). Multiple binary logistic regression analysis showed that older age (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; P = .007), higher astigmatism (OR, 1.23; P = .008), sphere (OR, 1.15; P = .026), and mean keratometric power (OR, 1.13; P = .036) significantly increased the odds for retreatment. A larger optical zone ablation (7.0 mm) significantly decreased the odds for retreatment (OR, 0.10; P = .022). Significant cutoffs associated with retreatments were age greater than 50 years, astigmatism more than 1.5 D, and sphere more than 2.0 D.

Older age and higher preoperative astigmatism, sphere, and corneal steepness were associated with myopic LASIK retreatment. Larger optical ablation zones might decrease retreatment rates.

None of the authors has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.