Department of Ophthalmology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Myongdong Bal-geun sesang Eye Clinic, and Seran Eye Center, Seoul, Korea.
In a prospective study, 140 consecutive eyes of 78 patients were treated with wavefront-guided LASIK or LASEK according to the patient's choice after each procedure had been thoroughly explained. The patients were followed for 6 months. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), manifest refraction, and wavefront aberrations were measured at baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery.
There were no significant differences in postoperative BCVA, UCVA, and manifest refraction between groups. The mean root-mean-square wavefront error of HOAs for a scotopic pupil in the wavefront-guided LASIK group was significantly smaller than that in the wavefront-guided LASEK group at 1 month. Analyzing individual Zernike coefficients, the spherical aberration and second coma were significantly smaller in the wavefront-guided LASIK group than in the wavefront-guided LASEK group at 1 month. This difference in HOAs between groups disappeared at 3 and 6 months.
The HOAs in the scotopic condition were not different between the wavefront-guided LASIK and LASEK groups beginning 3 months after surgery. However, the HOAs in the LASIK and LASEK groups had a different time course, especially in the case of spherical aberration. This finding suggests that postoperative changes in aberration contribute to the final outcome of wavefront-guided ablation.