Photorefractive keratectomy for hyperopia - Six months results in 45 eyes

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of photorefractive and photoastigmatic keratectomy for hyperopia. Methods: The Chiron Keracor 116 excimer laser (Chiron Technolas, Munich, Germany) was used to create a peripheral annular ablation profile for the correction of hyperopia and a prior cylindrical ablation in the negative axis for correction of the astigmatic component in 45 consecutive eyes with up to +6,50 diopters (D). All patients were followed far a minimum of 6 months. Results: At 6 months, mean subjective refraction was +0.12 D (standard deviation, 0.70), with 87% within 1 D of emmetropia. Ninety-three percent achieved uncorrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better, Three eyes (6.7%) lost 2 lines of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity and six eyes (13.3%) gained 2 lines or more. Conclusions: Photorefractive and photoastigmatic keratectomy effectively and predictably reduced hyperopia, improving uncorrected visual acuity in all patients at 6 months, Longer follow-up is required to be certain that refractive changes are stable.