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LASIK corrects refractive errors after transplant
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NEW YORK — LASIK offers several advantages over PRK for correcting refractive errors following penetrating keratoplasty, according to one surgeon.
Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, spoke about excimer laser treatment of post-keratoplasty refractive errors at the Ocular Surgery News Symposium. He said more than 40,000 penetrating keratoplasty procedures are performed annually, but visual rehabilitation of the patient is often difficult because of anisometropia and astigmatism.
Only 39% to 70% of eyes after PK are within 3 D of emmetropia, he said, and mean cylinder after PK is 4 D to 5 D. While contact lenses are the standard of care, many patients following PK are contact-lens intolerant, he said.
The advantages of using LASIK instead of PRK for visual rehabilitation after PK include rapid visual rehabilitation, decreased stromal scarring, less irregular astigmatism, minimal regression and the ability to treat a greater range of refractive disorders, said Dr. Donnenfeld, who is an OSN Cornea/External Disease Section Member. In his own experience, 100% of post-PK eyes were within 3 D emmetropia following LASIK, he said.
“I haven’t had any rejections with the technique,” Dr. Donnenfeld said.