Consider These Factors when Determining Appropriate Laser Eye Surgery
It is important to consider patient preference when determining appropriate laser eye surgery, noted Peter S. Hersh, MD, of the Hersh Vision Group in Teaneck, NJ, in an interview. Most patients in his practice prefer LASIK. However, he sometimes has to guide some toward PRK, particularly those at risk for ectasia, thin corneas, irregular topography, and epithelial changes.
“In general, I prefer LASIK over PRK,” he explained. “It’s easier for patients, easier for re-treatment, and we also find in our practice that it is slightly more refractively predictable because there is less wound healing and epithelial remodeling component. With that as the baseline, I’d say we do about 75% LASIK and 25% PRK. One of the reasons I would do PRK: We’re very interested in keratoconus in my practice, and we obviously don’t want to put patients at risk of ectasia. Patients I’ll select for PRK typically have thinner corneas, which with LASIK would not leave a residual stromal bed of more than 300 µm. I use 300 µm RSB, in general, as my cutoff, as well as a percentage of tissue altered of 40% of corneal thickness.”
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Patient age, corneal thickness need to be considered in laser eye surgery. [Published online May 25, 2018]. Ocular Surgery News.
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