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Comparative Study
. 2010 Jun;24(3):143-7.
doi: 10.3341/kjo.2010.24.3.143. Epub 2010 Jun 5.

Early postoperative pain and visual outcomes following epipolis-laser in situ keratomileusis and photorefractive keratectomy

Jae-Hyung Kim  1 , Jooeun Lee, Jae Yong Kim, Hungwon Tchah
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Early postoperative pain and visual outcomes following epipolis-laser in situ keratomileusis and photorefractive keratectomy

Jae-Hyung Kim et al. Korean J Ophthalmol. 2010 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: To compare early postoperative pain and visual outcomes after epipolis-laser in situ keratomileusis (epi-LASIK) and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in the treatment of myopia.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was designed and included 49 eyes in 30 patients who underwent epi-LASIK and 54 eyes in 29 patients who underwent PRK. During the early postoperative period (days 1 to 5), pain, uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), and time to epithelial healing were recorded. Visual outcomes were followed for up to six months.

Results: Mean preoperative spherical equivalent refraction for the epi-LASIK group was -3.99+/-1.39 diopters (D) and that of the PRK group was -3.54+/-1.27 D. The pain scores on the fourth postoperative day were significantly higher in the epi-LASIK group than in the PRK group (p=0.017). Duration of pain in the epi-LASIK group was longer than in the PRK group (p=0.010). Mean healing time was significantly longer in the epi-LASIK group than in the PRK group (p<0.000). In addition, UCVA in the epi-LASIK group at postoperative days 1 and 3 were significantly lower than those in the PRK group (p=0.021 and p<0.000, respectively). Uncorrected visual acuity at one week and one month after epi-LASIK were lower than those after PRK (p=0.023 and p=0.004, respectively).

Conclusions: In the epi-LASIK patients, pain relief, corneal healing, and visual recovery seemed to be slower during the early postoperative period compared to those of the PRK patients. With longer duration of follow-up, however, there were no significant differences in visual outcome between the two groups.

Keywords: Epi-LASIK; Pain; Photorefractive keratectomy.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Early postoperative daily pain scores. epi-LASIK=epithelial laser in situ keratomileusis; PRK=photorefractive keratectomy. *p-value=0.017.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Early postoperative uncorrected visual acuities. logMAR=logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution; epi-LASIK=epithelial laser in situ keratomileusis; PRK=photorefractive keratectomy. *p-value=0.021; †p-value<0.001.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Late postoperative uncorrected visual acuities. logMAR=logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution; epi-LASIK=epithelial laser in situ keratomileusis; PRK=photorefractive keratectomy. *p-value=0.023; †p-value=0.004.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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