Photorefractive Keratectomy With Femtosecond Laser Shows Excellent Results

Penetrating keratoplasty using a femtosecond laser to create surgical incisions in a zigzag pattern appears bio-mechanically stable, according to a study by researchers in California published in the December issue of Ophthalmology.

Patients treated with the technique showed "excellent" wound closure and integrity, and had only moderate astigmatism within a few months after operation, the authors noted.

Marjan Farid, MD, and colleagues reviewed outcomes from full-thickness PK performed in 13 eyes of 13 patients. In all cases, the surgeon used the IntraLase FS femtosecond laser (Advanced Medical Optics) to create zigzag-patterned incisions in both the donor graft and the recipient cornea, according to the study.

These zigzag incisions were created in a consistent pattern, matching the donor and host.

In eight eyes with the potential for full vision, seven eyes (87.5%) had a best corrected visual acuity of 20/30 or better at 3 months, and one eye had improved to 20/25 at 6 months follow-up.

In 3-9 month post-operative followup, the researchers found that astigmatism averaged 3 D or less at all follow-up points beginning at 1 month postop, with a maximum of 4.25 D of astigmatism seen from 3 months out to final follow-up.

The authors reported that optical coherence tomography images showed excellent anterior and posterior wound alignment in all cases.