Variability in corneal thickness before, during, and after radial keratotomy

Precision in radial keratotomy requires accurate pachymetry for safety and efficacy. We evaluated the location, timing, and extent of changes in corneal thickness between those determined by preoperative measurement in the clinic and those determined by pre-incision and post-incision measurement in the operating room.

Sixty eyes of 37 patients had ultrasonic pachymetry measurements of the central and paracentral cornea taken in the clinic 20 minutes before each patient underwent radial keratotomy. The pachymetry was repeated intraoperatively immediately before and, in a subset of 17 eyes, immediately after incisions were made, and the readings were compared.

The thinnest of the four paracentral readings measured just prior to placing the radial keratotomy incisions was located temporally in 92% of the eyes and inferiorly in 8%. Corneas progressively thinned from clinic to surgery by an average of 7 +/- 12 microns centrally and 10 +/- 18 microns temporally. Additional thinning of 13 +/- 14 microns centrally and 22 +/- 23 microns temporally occurred during surgery.

The thinnest paracentral corneal region measured in an eye was not always located in the same quadrant preoperatively and intraoperatively. During the time of incision placement, significant corneal thinning had occurred at each incision site. Individual variations in corneal thickness between that measured preoperatively and that measured during surgery cautions against the use of clinic readings for diamond knife settings during radial keratotomy.