Excimer laser (193 nm) myopic keratomileusis in sighted and blind human eyes

Abstract

Ten blind and 13 sighted human eyes underwent excimer laser (193 nm) keratomileusis. The radiant exposure was 180 mJ/cm2 with an ablation zone diameter of 3.5 mm. The follow-up of the blind eyes ranged from 9 to 11 months, whereas that of the sighted eyes was at least 6 months. The intended refraction change was -3.0 and -5.0 D in the blind eyes and ranged from -1.5 to -7.0 D in the sighted eyes. After 3 months, 12 of 13 sighted eyes (92%) achieved a refraction between +/- 1.0 D, whereas after 6 months 77% of the refractions were in this range. Temporary subepithelial haze occurred in all eyes except some of the -3.0 D blind eyes. After 6 months, the subepithelial haze had resolved to a clinical non-significant level (trace to grade 0.5 haze), except in one eye that showed a focal scar.