Comparison of postoperative visual quality after SMILE and LASEK for high myopia: A 1-year outcome.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To compare the 1-year outcome of visual quality after laser-assisted subepithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) and femtosecond laser-assisted small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) for high myopia correction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This prospective, comparative study included 24 eyes of 24 patients in the LASEK group, with a mean spherical equivalent (SE) of -7.59 ± 1.32 diopters, and 26 eyes of 26 patients in the SMILE group, with a mean SE of -7.91 ± 1.08 diopters. Visual acuity, corneal topography, contrast sensitivity (CS), and wavefront aberrations were recorded preoperatively and compared with postoperative measurements. Objective scatter index (OSI) and modulation transfer function (MTF) cut-off frequency were measured 1 year postoperatively.

RESULTS:

One year postoperatively, the two groups demonstrated no significant difference in the CS at all spatial frequencies. The increments of higher-order aberrations (HOAs) (HOA = 0.583 ± 0.210 μm), including spherical aberration (SA) (SA = 0.546 ± 0.249 μm), were higher (P < 0.05) in the LASEK group than those in the SMILE group (HOA = 0.451 ± 0.143 μm; SA = 0.450 ± 0.340 μm) after surgery. There were no significant differences in the increments of coma and trefoil aberrations between the two groups. The OSI and MTF cut-off frequency exhibited no significant differences between the two groups postoperatively. No vision-threatening complications were noted at any stage in either group.

CONCLUSIONS:

Both LASEK and SMILE are safe and effective surgical options for the correction of high myopia. SMILE has a lower HOAs and SA induction rate 1 year postoperatively.

• Authors: Xiaoyu Zhu, Leilei Zou, Manrong Yu, Chen Qiu, Minjie Chen, Jinhui Dai
• Journal: PloS one (PLoS One) Vol. 12 Issue 8 Pg. e0182251 ( 2017) ISSN: 1932-6203 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 28771544 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article)

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Female
• Humans
• Keratectomy, Subepithelial, Laser-Assisted (methods)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Myopia (physiopathology, surgery)
• Postoperative Period
• Prospective Studies
• Visual Acuity (physiology)
• Young Adult