September 14, 2014
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Femtosecond laser used to correct naturally occurring astigmatism

LONDON – Femtosecond laser-assisted keratotomy can be used in patients with naturally occurring high astigmatism, Sonia H. Yoo, MD, said at the EuCornea Congress here.

“Over time, we have learned that femtosecond laser is a very powerful tool in terms of corneal surgery,” Yoo said. “We can perform lamellar or penetrating keratoplasties, place Intacs or ring segments … as well as create astigmatic incisions.”

Sonya Yoo

Sonia H. Yoo

Yoo presented a retrospective noncomparative interventional case series in which 13 eyes of nine patients underwent the procedure for naturally occurring astigmatism. Patient age ranged from 32 years to 86 years. Follow-up ranged from 5 months to 13 months.

Uncorrected visual acuity improved in 12 eyes, and best spectacle corrected vision was unchanged or improved in 10 eyes. All 13 eyes had 20/30 or better visual acuity, and corneal cylinder also decreased significantly more than 3 D in nine eyes, she said.

“We were able to treat fairly high degrees of astigmatism,” she said. “Importantly, we found that the spherical equivalent did not change significantly in this group of patients.”

Disclosure: Yoo is a consultant for Alcon, Allergan, AMO, Bausch + Lomb, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Bioptigen and Transcend Medical.