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Comparison of excimer laser treatment of astigmatism and myopia. The Excimer Laser and Research Group
H R Taylor1, C S Guest, P Kelly
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Objective:
To assess the safety and efficacy of excimer laser treatment of myopic astigmatism and to compare this with the excimer laser treatment of myopia.
Design:
A prospective, open study of consecutive patients having excimer laser treatment of myopic astigmatism or myopia.
Settings:
Patients were recruited from 18 private ophthalmic practices.
Patients:
Fifty-four eyes received treatment for astigmatism and 66 eyes for myopia. One patient was lost to follow-up, and another underwent an ineffective ablation.
Interventions:
A VISX Twenty/Twenty excimer laser was used to perform either photoastigmatic refractive keratectomy or photorefractive keratectomy.
Main Outcome Measures:
Refraction and visual acuity with and without correction were assessed preoperatively and postoperatively.
Results:
At 6 months, 17 (85%) of the 20 patients receiving photoastigmatic refractive keratectomy were within 1 diopter of plano refraction, and 19 (95%) of 20 had uncorrected visual acuity of 6/12 (20/40) or better. For patients receiving photorefractive keratectomy, these figures were 28 (88%) of 32 patients and 28 (88%) of 32 patients, respectively.
Conclusions:
Excimer laser surgery offers an effective option in the treatment of myopic astigmatism.