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Standard deviation smaller with laser keratome, company says
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CHICAGO — Flaps created by a femtosecond laser keratome had a smaller standard deviation than those produced by a mechanical keratome, according to a laser keratome company commenting on study results.
The prospective, randomized, contralateral study by Hung Ming Lee, MD, in Singapore, was designed to produce 120 µm corneal flaps during LASIK using the Zyoptix XP microkeratome (Bausch & Lomb) and the IntraLase FS 15 kH femtosecond laser and to determine the standard deviation for both. One eye of 50 patients had flaps made with the Zyoptix XP and the other eye had flaps created with the IntraLase 15. IntraLase notes in a press release its newest laser was not used in the study.
The study data was reported by Dr. Lee during a press breakfast hosted by Bausch & Lomb here during the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.
Dr. Lee measured the achieved flap thickness with both ultrasonic pachymetry and optical coherence pachymetry. Optical coherence pachymetry is “consistently more accurate” than ultrasonic pachymetry (OCP), said Ronald Kurtz, MD, IntraLase vice president, medical director, in an interview with Ocular Surgery News. He went on to discuss the flap thickness achieved results as measured by OCP.
Dr. Lee reported that the Zyoptix XP flaps had a standard deviation of 14.4 µm as measured with OCP, while the IntraLase flaps had standard deviation of 15.9 µm, Dr. Kurtz said. He calculated these standard deviations into percentages. The Zyoptix XP flap SD was 13.2%, and the IntraLase flap SD was 11.5%, he said.
Additional data comparing laser and mechanical microkeratome results will be released during the AAO’s meeting this week. Steven Schallhorn, MD, David Tanzer, MD, and Edward Manche, MD, will report on improvements in contrast sensitivity and uncorrected vision with the IntraLase, according to the press release.