Many surgical procedures have been advocated for the correction of astigmatism. Photorefractive keratectomy has been reported to be an efficient and relatively safe procedure for the correction of astigmatism. The purpose of this study was to evaluate safety, efficacy, and predictability in the treatment of astigmatism with three PRK procedures using the Schwind Amaris 750s Laser.
Even though LASIK has been adopted worldwide as a safe and effective means of correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, PRK remains a useful tool to refractive surgeons. PRK treatment is applied by different methods for the correction of astigmatism. Each method has certain advantages and drawbacks. This study evaluated the safety, predictability, and efficacy of three different PRK procedures in the treatment of astigmatism using Schwind Amaris 750S laser. Results after a follow-up of 6 months showed an improvement of the mean UCVA in all treated eyes, without a statistically significant difference between the three groups.
In this retrospective comparative case series, 89 eyes of 50 patients who underwent PRK treatment for astigmatism were enrolled. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on the PRK procedure: Group 1: PRK without mitomycin-C (MMC) application, Group 2: PRK with MMC application, and Group 3: Trans-Photorefractive Keratectomy (T-PRK).
This study was limited by the small number of patients in each group, short follow-up period, and by its retrospective study design. However, the study is important in terms of comparison of efficacy, safety and predictability of three PRK procedures for astigmatism. In summary, the study suggests that PRK with the Schwind Amaris 750S Excimer laser system is safe, effective, and predictable for treating astigmatism. Based on the results of our current study, PRK without MMC, PRK with MMC and T-PRK have similar safety, effectiveness, and predictability. The rate of haze and mean haze score were comparable between the groups.
In conclusion, the study showed that PRK without MMC, PRK with MMC and T-PRK appears to have similar effectiveness, safety and predictability in the treatment of astigmatism. The incidence of haze was also similar between the three groups.
Photorefractive keratectomy in the correction of astigmatism using Schwind Amaris 750s laser