Femtosecond lenticule extraction shows good results in correcting myopia

Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2010;248(7):1019-1027.

Femtosecond lenticule extraction appears to be effective for correction of myopia, a study showed.

The study authors presented 6-month results of femtosecond lenticule extraction (FLEx), an alternative to excimer laser-based ablation techniques.

"FLEx appears to be a safe and promising corneal refractive procedure for correcting myopia," the authors said.

The prospective study included 108 eyes of 56 patients who underwent FLEx surgery; 107 eyes completed 6-month follow-up.

Mean patient age was 35 years. Mean preoperative spherical equivalent –4.59 D. Primary outcome measures were uncorrected visual acuity, best corrected visual acuity, objective and manifest refraction, slit lamp findings, side effects and subjective responses to a standardized patient questionnaire.

The procedure involved simultaneous cutting of a flap and lenticule of intrastromal corneal tissue using a femtosecond laser, followed by manual removal of the lenticule and flap repositioning.

Study data showed that mean postoperative spherical equivalent was –0.19 D; 98.1% of treated eyes achieved visual outcomes within 1 D of the target and 74.8% of eyes were within 0.5 D.

Eight eyes lost one line of Snellen visual acuity, one eye lost two lines, 46 eyes gained one line and 10 eyes gained two lines. Visual acuity was unchanged in 42 eyes.

Responses to the questionnaire showed that 97.1% of patients were satisfied with surgical outcomes and would repeat the procedure, the authors said.

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