Excimer retreatment of regression after photorefractive keratectomy

Regression of effect is a well-established complication of excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy for the correction of myopia. In 17 eyes retreated with excimer photorefractive keratectomy, minimum follow-up time was six months. Mean (+/- SD) refraction at six months postoperatively was -0.97 +/- 2.10 diopters, significantly different (P < .01) from the pre-retreatment mean of -2.91 +/- 0.86 diopters. The 11 best eyes (six-month refraction < -1.00 diopter) had a mean refraction of +0.32 +/- 0.67 diopter. At six months after retreatment, 64.7% had an uncorrected visual acuity greater than or equal to 20/40, and 58.8% were within 1.00 diopter of emmetropia. Two eyes showed a loss of one to two Snellen lines at six months. There was no significant increase in mean haze after retreatment. While the percentage of eyes with uncorrected visual acuity greater than or equal to 20/40 and the percentage of eyes within 1.00 diopter of emmetropia were lower than in eyes which did not require retreatment, the results of this study indicate that the majority of photorefractive keratectomy regressions can be successfully retreated.