Abstract
This study analyzed the impact of corneal epithelial refraction on the correction of hyperopic and mixed astigmatism eyes treated with transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy. From the epithelial refraction provided by the diagnostic device, OCT correlations were evaluated with respect to manifest refraction. The postoperative outcomes showed a mean sphere of -0.03 D and a mean cylinder of -0.33 D, with 93% and 98% having 0.5 D, 1 D, or less spherical equivalent refractive error. The epithelium showed preoperative toricity: at 6 mm, the epithelium showed a compensational effect of ~15% for the refractive astigmatism, whereas at 3 mm, the compensation accounted for ~25% of the refractive astigmatism. No correlation was found between preoperative epithelial refraction and refractive deviation after hyperopic or mixed astigmatic transepithelial photorefractive treatment. This work provides insight into the refractive compensatory impact of the epithelium, suggests how one can benefit from that in transepithelial corrections, and sets a framework for the potential induction of errors in non-transepithelial corrections.