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LASIK possible in previous RK patients using femtosecond laser flaps

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LASIK can be safely performed using a femtosecond laser-created flap on eyes previously treated with radial keratotomy, a study suggests.

Gonzalo Muñoz, MD, PhD, and colleagues conducted the prospective study, which included 11 eyes of seven patients with residual low myopia after previous radial keratotomy (RK). The researchers used an IntraLase femtosecond laser (IntraLase Corp.) to create corneal flaps in all cases.

“Although the RK incisions opened in all eyes when the flap was lifted, LASIK was successfully completed in all cases,” the authors said in the study. Corneal flaps averaged 119 ± 13 µm in thickness, with no cases of slipped flaps, microstriae or epithelial ingrowth, they noted.

Following surgery, mean defocus equivalent reduced from 2.51 ± 0.62 D to 0.52 ± 0.28 D, with seven eyes (63.6%) within ±0.5 D and all eyes within ±1 D. Additionally, all eyes had achieved uncorrected visual acuities of 20/40 or better, although two eyes (18.1%) did lose 1 line of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity, according to the study.

The study was published in the August issue of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.