Corneal Higher-Order Aberrations and Visual Acuity After Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty in Treating Limbal Dermoid

To evaluate the corneal higher-order aberrations (HOAs) in eyes with limbal dermoids before and after excision and anterior lamellar keratoplasty (ALK) and its impact on visual acuity.

This retrospective consecutive study included 39 eyes of 39 patients with limbal dermoid who underwent ALK. Higher-order aberrations were measured using anterior segment optical coherence tomography. The correlation between HOAs and visual acuity was investigated.

The mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution significantly improved from 0.21±0.41 to 0.12±0.34 after ALK (P=0.038). The HOAs of the total cornea within a 4-mm diameter significantly decreased from 2.66±5.51 μm to 1.09±1.48 after ALK (P=0.006). Logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution was significantly correlated with corneal HOAs (r=0.610, P<0.001 before ALK, r=0.518, P=0.008 after ALK), preoperative corneal astigmatism (r = -0.336, P=0.036), and dermoid diameter (r=0.467, P=0.004) but not with postoperative corneal astigmatism (r=0.017, P=0.934).

Corneal HOAs and dermoid diameter were associated with decreased visual acuity in limbal dermoid. Excision of limbal dermoids and ALK significantly reduced corneal HOA and improved visual acuity.