Corneal Haze Development After PRK Is Regulated by Volume of Stromal Tissue Removal

Abstract

Excimer laser transepithelial photoablation induced significantly less keratocyte loss than manual epithelial debridement; however, photoablation was followed by a more intense inflammatory response and a greater increase in backscattering of light (haze) that was associated with increased keratocyte activation and myofibroblast transformation. Most important, the magnitude of corneal wound repair and the development and duration of corneal haze increased proportionally with increasing stromal photoablation depth (i.e., the volume of stromal tissue removal) but were unrelated to depth of initial keratocyte loss.