Long-Term Safety Shown for Laser Eye Surgery

A new study has found that laser surgery to correct nearsightedness has safe long-term results.

Researchers from Miguel Hernandez University (Alicante, Spain) evaluated 200 eyes with nearsightedness (myopia) or with myopia and astigmatism. One hundred eyes were corrected with LASIK ((laser in-situ keratomileusis), while the other 100 were corrected with PRK (photorefractive keratectomy).

The researchers examined the patients, who were on average 29 years old when the surgeries were performed in 1995-1996, and measured each patient's vision, evaluating changes on the cornea. Most of the vision correction remained relatively stable, and the vision of both groups regressed only slightly. The study was presented at the joint annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, held in November 2006 in Las Vegas (NV, USA).

"Our findings are that both are safe after 10 years,” said lead researcher Jorge Alio, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chairman of ophthalmology at Miguel Hernandez University and medical director of Vissum (Alicante, Spain). "They read the line [on the eye chart] above what they used to read.”

In refractive surgery, a microkeratome is first used to cut a hinged flap of corneal tissue off the outer layer of the eyeball. Lasers are then used to reshape and remove parts of the cornea so that light entering the eye re-focuses on the retina, restoring refraction to normal.



Related Links:
Vissum
Miguel Hernandez University