Photorefractive keratectomy for myopia: 6-month results in 95 eyes

Ninety-five eyes of 91 patients with myopia from -1.00 to -6.00 D (mean -3.40 D, +/- 1.2) were treated with an ExciMed UV2OOLA 193-nanometer excimer laser (Summit Technology, Inc, Waltham, Mass) (with version 5.5 software) with a 5-millimeter ablation zone. At 6 months, 67 eyes (70%) were within +/- 0.50 D, 84 eyes (88%) were within +/- 1.00 D, and 94 eyes (99%) were within +/- 2.00 D. There was an average overcorrection of +0.25 D which had decreased to +0.18 D by 9 months. Best spectacle corrected visual acuity was 6/6 or better in 88 eyes (94%) and six eyes (6%) had a corrected visual acuity of 6/9. Fifty percent of eyes had slight astigmatism (mean 0.68 D, range 0.25 to 2.00 D) and this reduced to 0.33D (0.02 > p > 0.01) at 6 months.