For how long can regression continue after photorefractive keratectomy for myopia?

PURPOSE: The presence and degree of regression were assessed from 18 to 30 months after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). METHODS: A total of 449 eyes (449 patients) were treated with an Aesculap Meditec 193-nm Arf Excimer laser. These 449 eyes were followed during the first 24 months after PRK, and 252 of these eyes were followed for 24 to 30 months. RESULTS: Thirty (6.7%) of the 449 eyes followed for up to 24 months showed good refractive results during the first year and a half but regressed thereafter and required retreatment. Late regression was confined to subjects with pretreatment myopia above -4.0 diopters (D) and was the same in low- and high-myopic eyes between 18 and 24 months post-PRK. However, between 24 and 30 months, regression was higher in low-myopic eyes, where it reached -0.55 D, than in high-myopic eyes, where it was -0.21 D. This lower frequency of regression in high-myopic eyes is attributed to the relatively high rate of retreatment in this group during the first 18 months after PRK. CONCLUSIONS: Although the findings indicate a fairly low rate of regression after 24 months, there still are insufficient data on which to predict when regression post-PRK stabilizes.

Influence of patient age on refraction and corneal haze after photorefractive keratectomy.

AIMS/BACKGROUND: Since wound healing processes are known to be more rapid in those who are young, it was decided to examine the effect of patient age on refractive outcome of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). METHODS: The records of 599 eyes that had undergone PRK were studied retrospectively. The eyes were categorised by baseline myopia and patient age. Spherical equivalent and corneal haze were compared in the baseline refraction and age groups at 3, 6, and 12 months after PRK. RESULTS: There were no differences in postoperative refraction and corneal haze in the different age groups. CONCLUSION: Patient age had no statistically significant effect on refraction and corneal haze 1 year after PRK.

Exudative age-related macular degeneration in patients with diabetic retinopathy and its relation to retinal laser photocoagulation.

PURPOSE: To study the relationship between exudative age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy and assess the influence of retinal laser photocoagulation for diabetic retinopathy on the occurrence of exudative age-related macular degeneration. METHODS: Two groups, one of diabetic retinopathy patients treated with laser and the other of non-laser-treated diabetic retinopathy patients, were studied by means of fundoscopy and fluorescein angiography for the presence of exudative age-related macular degeneration. RESULTS: Exudative age-related macular degeneration was not observed in 431 patients treated with laser photocoagulation, and was diagnosed in 3.3% of 151 non-laser-treated patients. CONCLUSION: Patients treated by laser photocoagulation for diabetic retinopathy are less prone to develop the exudative form of age-related macular degeneration.

The course of diabetic retinopathy following cataract surgery in eyes previously treated by laser photocoagulation.

The course of diabetic retinopathy following extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber lens implantation in eyes previously treated by laser photocoagulation for diabetic retinopathy was retrospectively studied in 33 eyes (33 patients). In 20 eyes (61%) there was no change in the retinal status postoperatively. In 13 (39%) there was postoperative progression of diabetic retinopathy compared with the fellow non-operated eye, in which progression occurred in nine eyes (27%). The severity of the preoperative status affected the incidence of progression. Four eyes (12%) developed complications of diabetic retinopathy--that is, rubeosis iridis and vitreous haemorrhage--which regressed after lasering. Cystoid macular oedema developed in 13 eyes (39%) and its incidence varied according to the postoperative course of diabetic retinopathy. The majority of the eyes showed a postoperative improvement in vision.

Cystoid macular oedema following neodymium:YAG laser capsulotomy a prospective study.

Neodymium:YAG laser capsulotomy was performed in 65 eyes of 65 patients because of vision loss due to posterior capsular opacification or wrinkling following uneventful extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation. Eyes with pre-existing macular pathology were excluded from this study. In all of the eyes the posterior capsule was successfully opened. None developed clinical or angiographic cystoid macular oedema. One eye developed retinal detachment nine months after capsulotomy.