ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of transepithelial accelerated crosslinking (TE-ACXL) using pulsed light and supplemental oxygen. METHODS: Thirty eyes of 30 consecutive patients with progressive keratoconus or post-LASIK ectasia were enrolled in a prospective non-comparative study conducted at the Magrabi Eye Center (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia). All eyes underwent TE-ACXL with supplemental oxygen. Primary outcome measures were the mean change in corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) (logMAR) and maximum keratometry (max K) from preoperatively to 12 months postoperatively. Secondary outcome measures included change in manifest refractive spherical equivalent (MRSE), refractive cylinder, keratometry, symmetry index (SI), center-surrounding index (CSI) and ectasia index (EI) of the anterior and posterior corneal surfaces, corneal and epithelial thickness at corneal vertex and thinnest location, corneal densitometry, corneal high order aberrations (HOA) and endothelial cell density (ECD). RESULTS: Mean age was 29.6 ± 8.2 years. At 1 year, the follow up rate was 93.3%. CDVA improved statistically significantly at 12 months (p = 0.027). Measures of corneal keratometry or pachymetry did not change significantly (p < 0.05). Postoperatively, a demarcation line was documented in 78.6% eyes at 1 month, and in 12 (42.9%) eyes at 12 months. The mean depth of the demarcation line was 341.9 ± 49.4 µm. Corneal densitometry increased significantly at 1- and 3-months (p < 0.05) and returned to normal levels at 6- and 12-months postoperatively. CONCLUSION: TE-ACXL with oxygen supplement is effective at halting the progression of corneal ectasia for at least 1 year and can be a refractive neutral procedure.