Efficacy and safety of superficial photoablation in myopic ametropic
Keywords:
laser; myopia; mitomycin CAbstract
Introduction: Superficial photoablation techniques, such as photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (TransPRK), both using mitomycin C (MMC), have become established as effective alternatives for correcting refractive errors.
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of PRK and TransPRK techniques with MMC in patients with myopic refractive errors, using the Microscan Visum laser platform with wavefront-optimized ablation profile.
Methods: A prospective quasi-experimental study was conducted with 124 patients, divided into two equal groups, matched by preoperative visual and biometric characteristics. Clinical variables such as type and degree of refractive error, axial length, visual acuity, mean keratometry, mean pachymetry, efficacy, safety, refractive outcomes, and complications were evaluated.
Results: 100% of patients achieved uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) ≥ 20/40 and 98% ≥ 20/20. Efficacy rates were 0.98 ± 0.10 (PRK-MMC) and 0.97 ± 0.11 (TransPRK-MMC), with an identical safety index (1.010 ± 0.05). No significant differences were observed in postoperative spherical equivalent. Postoperative complications were infrequent in both groups, affecting less than 10% of patients. Overcorrection was observed in one patient in the PRK-MMC group (1.6%) and in two patients in the TransPRK-MMC group (3.2%).
Conclusions: Both surgical techniques are effective and safe for correcting myopia and refractive errors, with a low frequency of postoperative complications.
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