Ongoing prospective clinical study of radial keratotomy

The ongoing prospective clinical study of radial keratotomy at the University of Maryland now includes 58 eyes of 33 patients. Fifty-two eyes underwent a single operation, whereas six eyes underwent two operations. Follow-up was a minimum of six months and a mean of 19 months. Preoperative vision was 20/400 or less in 74% of eyes. Postoperative vision was 20/40 or better in 48% of eyes. There was an average myopia decrease of 2.70 diopters and an average corneal flattening of 1.51 diopters. Patients with preoperative refractive errors of 5 diopters or less achieved 20/40 or better vision in 65% of eyes, as compared to only 19% in eyes with preoperative refractive errors greater than 5 diopters. This is highly significant (P less than 0.005). There was no difference in the results achieved by our first 33 eyes when compared to our second 25 eyes. The decrease in myopia did not correlate with corneal curvature, or whether 8 or 16 incisions had been used. No microperforations were seen and only one case of endothelial cell loss was observed. Glare and fluctuating vision was not a significant problem in our series.