Dry eye after laser in situ keratomileusis with femtosecond laser and mechanical keratome

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prospectively compare dry-eye symptoms after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) with mechanical keratome-created flaps and femtosecond laser keratome-created flaps. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA. DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial. METHODS: Fellow eyes were prospectively randomized to the mechanical keratome group and femtosecond laser keratome group. Patients had wavefront-guided LASIK using a mechanical keratome in 1 eye and a femtosecond laser keratome in the fellow eye. They completed dry-eye questionnaires preoperatively and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. The effect of laser ablation depth, sex, age, and flap thickness on dry-eye symptoms was also analyzed. RESULTS: The study enrolled 51 patients. There was no statistically significant change in dry-eye symptoms except in the femtosecond group 1 month postoperatively (mean increase 1.08) (P=.03). There were no significant differences in symptoms between the 2 groups (P=.7). The dry-eye score was 1.3 points lower in women than in men (P=.01). Central ablation depth, flap thickness, and age did not significantly affect the reported dryness. CONCLUSION: There appeared to be no statistically significant difference in self-reported dry-eye symptoms between the mechanical keratome group and the femtosecond laser keratome group.