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OCT shows flap creation with femtosecond laser is predictable, reproducible
J Refract Surg. 2011;27(2):106-110.
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Anterior segment optical coherence tomography revealed that LASIK flaps created with a femtosecond laser had good reproducibility and uniform morphology, a study found.
Researchers evaluated the flap thickness of 87 consecutive eyes of 44 patients after flap creation with the 200 kHz VisuMax femtosecond laser (Carl Zeiss Meditec). After being divided into two groups based on the intended flap thickness of 110 µm or 120 µm, the eyes were measured with Visante OCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec).
In the 110 µm group, mean achieved flap thickness was 112.8 µm 1 week after surgery and 112.3 µm after 1 month. The mean range of flap thickness at 1 month was 6.29 µm.
In the 120 µm group, mean achieved flap thickness was 122.5 µm 1 week after surgery and 122.2 µm after 1 month. The mean range of flap thickness at 1 month was 7.37 µm.
"Optical coherence tomography was proven to have a potential advantage in analyzing LASIK flaps, including the flap thickness measurement, because of its ease of use and ability to visualize wide areas of cornea from different meridians," the authors said.
However, the authors noted that the study was limited because they did not compare the results with ultrasound measurements, the analysis was conducted by one person and a small number of patients were analyzed.