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Femtosecond laser holds the edge in performance for LASIK flap creation
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NEW YORK — Femtosecond laser and mechanical microkeratome are safe, effective methods for LASIK flap creation; however, a femtosecond laser was shown to provide an edge in overall performance, according to one presenter here.
Susanna Boytha, MD, MRCOphth, compared outcomes of wavefront-guided LASIK for myopia with high astigmatism using femtosecond laser or mechanical microkeratome for flap creation.
"In our study, we wanted to see whether our clinical data confirmed the potential advantages of the femtosecond laser flap," Dr. Boytha said at OSN New York 2010.
The retrospective study included 9,661 eyes, of which 7,588 eyes were treated using the IntraLase iFS femtosecond laser (Abbott Medical Optics) for flap creation and 2,073 eyes were treated using a mechanical microkeratome (Moria).
Patients' refractive outcomes for predictability and stability at 1 and 6 months postoperatively were nearly identical, according to Dr. Boytha.
However, uncorrected visual acuity measurements at 1 and 6 months showed that patients treated with the femtosecond laser had better UCVA than those treated with the mechanical microkeratome for 20/16, 20/20 and 20/25 vision. Best corrected visual acuity was also higher at 1 and 6 months in the femtosecond group; 24% vs. 19% gained one line at 1 month, and 27% vs. 24% gained one line at 6 months.