Functional optical zone after wavefront-optimized versus wavefront-guided laser in situ keratomileusis.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Refractive Surgery
• Corneal Laser Surgery

Background:

• Functional optical zone (FOZ) is a key metric for comparing refractive laser treatments.
• No prior studies have compared FOZ between wavefront-optimized (WFO) and wavefront-guided (WFG) LASIK.
• This study addresses this gap by comparing WFO and WFG LASIK in myopic patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the functional optical zone (FOZ) after wavefront-optimized (WFO) versus wavefront-guided (WFG) LASIK.
• To evaluate visual acuity, refractive error, corneal asphericity, and higher-order aberrations post-LASIK.
• To determine differences in laser ablation depth between WFO and WFG LASIK.

Main Methods:

• Prospective comparative study of 100 myopic eyes (50 patients) undergoing femtosecond LASIK.
• Patients divided into WFO or WFG groups.
• FOZ measured using Holladay's equivalent keratometry reading (EKR) on Pentacam HR, defined by a 0.5 D standard deviation around the mean EKR.

Main Results:

• WFG LASIK showed significantly greater mean laser ablation depth (18 µm/D) than WFO LASIK (16 µm/D).
• No significant difference in FOZ diameter (WFO: 4.32 mm, WFG: 4.16 mm) was observed between the groups.
• Corneal asphericity change was greater in the WFG group; visual acuity and higher-order aberrations were comparable.

Conclusions:

• WFG LASIK leads to increased ablation depth and corneal asphericity changes compared to WFO LASIK.
• Despite differences in ablation parameters, FOZ, refractive error, and higher-order aberrations remain similar between WFO and WFG LASIK.
• Further research is recommended to validate these findings.