Correction of astigmatism with Excimer laser transverse keratectomy

Transverse keratectomies with the Excimer laser were performed on seven eyes of 4 patients with a mean, naturally occurring astigmatism of 5.32D (SD 1.0), range 4.25 to 7.0D. One month later mean astigmatism was 3.46D (SD 1.35), 3 months later 3.8D (SD 1.35), rising to 4.3D (SD 1.6) after 6 months, and to 4.68 (SD 1.4) after 1 year. The refractive cylinder was reduced from a mean of 5.8D to 4.5D and the mean uncorrected visual acuity rose from 0.16 to 0.3. No serious complications occurred, and uncorrected visual acuity could be improved slightly. Excimer laser transverse keratectomy cannot be recommended as a good method to treat high degrees of naturally occurring astigmatism.