Abstract
BACKGROUND: After an optimal corneal transplantation, a residual refractive error is possible due to several factors. We evaluated the 1-yr follow up of laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis using femtosecond laser (LASIK) for the correction of residual ametropia after penetrating keratoplasty (PK). METHODS: Ten eyes of 10 patients were treated using corneal Femto-LASIK (F-LASIK) (WaveLight® Refractive Suite, Alcon) to correct refractive errors after PK at Careggi Teaching Hospital (Florence, Italy). The main outcomes included uncorrected and corrected distance visual acuity (UDVA, CDVA), preoperative and postoperative manifest refraction, and corneal topography. All patients were evaluated the day after surgery and 1, 4, 12, 24, 48 weeks later. RESULTS: At the 48-week follow up, all patients showed a significant improvement in their UDVA (mean: 0.95 ± 0.29 LogMAR vs 0.50 ± 0.22 LogMAR, p<0.05) as well as in the spherical equivalent value (SE) (mean: -4.50 ± 2.37 vs. -1.55 ± 0.77, p<0.05), the cylindrical ametropia (mean: -6.13 ± 2.04 vs. -3.20 ± 2.15, p<0.05) and the CDVA also improved (median 0.26 [0.1-0.9] vs 0.22 [0.1-0.4] LogMAR, p<00.05). These values were observed from the 12-week follow up onwards. Post-operative spherical ametropia was not statistically significant. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were not detected. CONCLUSIONS: UDVA significantly improved using Femto-LASIK without surgical complications. The refractive results were stable from the 3-mth to the 1-yr follow ups. Femto-LASIK is an effective and safe choice to treat post-PK refractive errors.