Excimer laser shows good results at 6 months, surgeon says

BARCELONA — The Schwind Amaris excimer laser platform produces high-quality LASIK treatments in terms of visual outcomes, smooth surfaces, no induced high-order aberrations and high contrast sensitivity, according to the results of a multicenter study presented here at the winter meeting of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

"Personally, I have performed more than 600 consecutive cases with the new-generation Schwind Amaris, and my results are more than amazing so far. Previously, our re-treatment rate was 2%. Now I can see it is going to be far lower," said Maria Clara Arbelaez, MD, of the Muscat Laser Eye Center, Oman.

The Schwind Amaris is a fast laser with a 0.54 mm super-Gaussian profile, a 500 Hz repetition rate and automatic fluence adjustment. The 1,050 Hz turbo eye tracker is set for static and dynamic cyclotorsion and detection of both iris and limbus.

In the multicenter study, 500 eyes treated by different surgeons were analyzed. LASIK flaps were created using the Pendular microkeratome, Dr. Arbelaez said.

At 6 months, 95% of the eyes achieved 20/20 uncorrected visual acuity and 55% achieved 20/16. More than 75% of eyes were within ±0.25 D of intended correction and 92% were within ±0.5 D.

Spherical equivalent averaged -0.17 D and astigmatism averaged -0.16 D, with a small standard deviation in both cases, Dr. Arbelaez said.

Best corrected visual acuity improved in 44% of eyes, and a loss of one line of vision was seen in only 1% of eyes, she noted.

"This improvement in postoperative BCVA is due to the Schwind-Cam software, which produces ablation profiles with a minimum amount of induced spherical aberrations," she said.

Contrast sensitivity was improved or maintained at all spatial frequencies, she added.

"To evaluate long-term stability, further follow-up is necessary. But after 6 months, we can say that results appear to be very promising," Dr. Arbelaez said.