This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Dry eye more severe in superior-hinge LASIK
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — A nasal hinge location seems to have advantages in LASIK, even at 6 months postoperatively, according to a study here.
Loss of corneal sensation and the presence of dry eye were greater in eyes that underwent LASIK via a superior hinge than the contralateral eye that underwent LASIK with a nasal hinge flap, the study found.
Eric Donnenfeld, MD, and colleagues randomized 52 patients undergoing LASIK to have a superior-hinged flap in one eye and a nasal-hinged flap in the bilateral eye. Esthesiometry and dry eye evaluations were performed at baseline and at 1 week and 1, 3 and 6 months postop. Subjective evaluation of dry eye was performed at 3 and 6 months after surgery.
Compared with preoperative levels, a significant reduction in corneal sensation remained at 6 months in eyes with superior-hinge flaps (P < .001) but not in those with nasal hinges. Corneal sensation was also greater in the nasal hinge group than in the superior hinge group during all postop visits. Corneal sensation loss was greatest at 1 week and in both groups improved at all follow-up exams.