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Epi-LASIK flap acts as bandage contact lens
NEW YORK — After epi-LASIK with a mechanical microkeratome, the epithelial flap acts as a bandage contact lens and does not interfere with re-epithelialization, according to early results of an ongoing study by Kerry D. Solomon, MD, and colleagues. The flap then sloughs off between postoperative day 1 and day 3, Dr. Solomon said
Here at the Ocular Surgery News Symposium, he presented early results of a clinical study of epi-LASIK using the surface ablation module on the Advanced Medical Optics Amadeus II microkeratome. Surgeons in the study have been performing bilateral epi-LASIK using the Amadeus II Epi-Blade plastic separator with an oscillation speed of 11,000 rpm and an advance rate of 1.5 mm/second, he said.
He reported on 61 patients who were assessed at postoperative days 1, 3 and 7 for flap and bed quality and pain level.
The general observation by study surgeons, he said, was that the epithelial flap is not viable and sloughs off between the day 1 and day 3 postop visits. But the flap acts as a bandage contact lens, and “patients are fairly comfortable with the epithelium placed back over Bowman’s,” he said.
Dr. Solomon noted that the Epi-Blade plastic separator used for surface separation with the Amadeus “is not a conventional blade.”
“It’s no different than the usual equipment,” he said. “It’s simply a different blade.”
According to Dr. Solomon, advantages of the device’s surface ablation module include “smooth Bowman’s membrane; clean, clear epithelial edges and epi-flap integrity.”
He said an ongoing study is assessing removal of the epithelial flap after debridement with the Amadeus II Epi-Blade. Data from this study will be presented at the upcoming American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.