Study: Thin-flap LASIK blends advantages of LASIK, surface procedures

LASIK with a thin flap is a safe technique to correct myopic defects, according to a group of researchers. The method “blends the advantages of surface and lamellar procedures,” the researchers said, with minimal disruption of the corneal architecture and comfortable visual recovery, the researchers said.

Rosario Cobo-Soriano, MD, PhD, and colleagues in Madrid, Spain, retrospectively studied 280 consecutive eyes that had undergone LASIK for myopia. They reported that the thin-flap procedure achieves “excellent refractive outcomes, a lower rate of enhancements and a good visual performance with better contrast sensitivity test results” than LASIK performed with a thicker flap.

All eyes in the retrospective study underwent the procedure with the Moria LSK-One microkeratome and the Technolas 217C laser. The eyes were split into three groups: 105 with a flap thickness of less than 100 µm, 122 with a flap thickness between 100 µm and 129 µm and 53 with a flap thickness of more than 130 µm.

Visual outcomes were significantly better in the thin flap group, the researchers found. Efficacy was achieved in 93% in the thin-flap group with no re-treatments, compared with 91% in the medium-thickness group with a 2.3% rate of re-treatments and 81% in the thick-flap group with a re-treatment rate of 5.6%. In contrast sensitivity testing, the thin flap group obtained the best results at lower spatial frequencies, the study authors said.

The study is published in the July issue of Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.