Eight-year follow-up of photorefractive keratectomy for myopia

The author evaluated the 8-year refractive tability of excimer laer photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for myopia. Ninety-two eye myopic eye of 55 patient were treated with a ingle-tep method uing an Aeculap-Meditec MEL 60 excimer laer with a 5.0 mm ablation zone. Treated group were divided into three group according to preoperative refraction: low myope (≤6.00D), medium myope (−6.10 to −10.00D), and high myope (>10.00D). Myopic regreion tabilized in all three group within 12 month, although there wa a mall myopic hift of −0.42 ± 0.48D for low myope, −0.37 ± 0.34D for moderate myope, and −0.41 ± 0.50D for high myope between 2 and 8 year after PRK. The percentage of eye within ±1.00D of emmetropia 8 year after PRK wa 78.3% in the low myopia group, 68.8% in the moderate myopia group, and 57.1% in the high myopia group. The percentage of eye with uncorrected viual acuity of 20/40 or better wa 78.3%, 62.5%, and 57.1%, repectively.—Michael D. Wagoner