Photorefractive keratectomy for hyperopia: six months results in 45 eyes.

Abstract

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of photorefractive and photoastigmatic keratectomy for hyperopia. The Chiron Keracor 116 excimer laser (Chiron Technolas, Munich, Germany) was used to create a peripheral annular ablation profile for the correction of hyperopia and a prior cylindrical ablation in the negative axis for correction of the astigmatic component in 45 consecutive eyes with up to +6.50 diopters (D). All patients were followed for a minimum of 6 months. At 6 months, mean subjective refraction was +0.12 D (standard deviation, 0.70), with 87% within 1 D of emmetropia. Ninety-three percent achieved uncorrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better. Three eyes (6.7%) lost 2 lines of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity and six eyes (13.3%) gained 2 lines or more. Photorefractive and photoastigmatic keratectomy effectively and predictably reduced hyperopia, improving uncorrected visual acuity in all patients at 6 months. Longer follow-up is required to be certain that refractive changes are stable.