Low-dose MMC reduces corneal haze after LASEK

Applying mitomycin-C at a 0.002% concentration during LASEK results in less postoperative corneal haze compared with eyes that do not receive the antimetabolite, a retrospective study found.

"Concerns regarding the potential toxicity of MMC make a 10-fold less concentration more desirable in refractive surgery," the study authors said

Ivey Thornton, MD, and colleagues compared outcomes for 83 eyes that received 0.002% MMC during LASEK with those of 92 eyes that did not receive MMC. They published their results in the November issue of American Journal of Ophthalmology.

Univariate analysis showed that eyes not treated with MMC had thinner corneal pachymetry (P < .001), higher spherical equivalent error (P = .006) and smaller ablation zone (P = .009). However, multivariate analysis showed that MMC-treated eyes had less corneal haze at all follow-up points out to 2 years (P < .001), according to the study.

In addition, multivariate analysis showed no difference in either postoperative uncorrected visual acuity or efficacy ratio between the groups. However, MMC-treated patients showed a better efficacy ratio at 1 month (P < .001) and 2 months postop (P = .034), according to the study.

"Further comparative study of low- vs. higher-dose MMC is recommended to characterize its clinical benefit fully," the authors said.