A significant fraction of LASIK patients may experience myopic regression after LASIK. When this occurs, the results of LASIK will decline toward increased myopia (nearsightedness) after treatment. It’s not known exactly what is the frequency of this condition, but some studies have suggested it might be as high as 20% during the first six months and as high as 25% after a year. Patients with high myopia (at least 10 diopters) are at the greatest risk for this complication.
A recent study suggests that the use of the microkeratome may be partly to blame for this, and that LASIK patients may be more likely to retain the quality of their LASIK results if the procedure is performed using a femtosecond laser. The study, published in the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery looked at the long-term results of 786 LASIK patients, 377 who had LASIK performed with a microkeratome, 409 performed with a femtosecond laser. Follow-ups were performed for both groups at one week and 12 months after surgery.
Researchers defined myopic regression as a combination of a myopic shift of 0.5 diopters (about 1 line on the Snellen chart) or more with residual myopia of 0.5 diopters or less. Using this definition, the risk for myopic regression after LASIK with a microkeratome was 67%, compared to 44% risk for femtosecond laser LASIK.
This study is part of the growing body of evidence that, although subtle, femtosecond lasers may actually result in significantly better LASIK results than microkeratomes.
To discuss a possible LASIK procedure with a doctor, please contact a local ophthalmologist.
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