Corneal wavefront-guided customized laser in situ keratomileusis after penetrating keratoplasty

Purpose To assess the efficacy and safety of corneal wavefront-guided custom laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) to correct refractive errors and higher-order aberrations (HOAs) after penetrating keratoplasty (PKP). Setting Beyoglu Eye Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. Design Noncomparative case series. Methods The study comprised consecutive patients who were unable to tolerate spectacles or contact lenses for the correction of anisometropia after PKP and had corneal wavefront-guided custom LASIK. The uncorrected (UDVA) and corrected (CDVA) distance visual acuities, manifest refraction spherical equivalent (MRSE), and corneal HOAs were recorded before and after LASIK. Results The study evaluated 11 eyes (10 patients). The mean follow-up after LASIK was 24.3 months ± 11.7 (SD) (range 9 to 36 months). The mean MRSE was -2.97 ± 1.66 diopters (D) (range -0.50 to -5.38 D) preoperatively and -0.88 ± 0.96 D (range -2.75 to 0.5 D) postoperatively. The mean total higher-order root mean square (RMS) was 4.65 ± 1.14 μm (range 2.26 to 5.94 μm) preoperatively and 2.71 ± 1.31 μm (range 1.22 to 5.33 μm) postoperatively. Postoperatively, the UDVA improved in 7 eyes and remained unchanged in 4 eyes. The CDVA improved in all eyes postoperatively even cases in which the attempted astigmatic correction was not totally achieved. Conclusions Corneal wavefront-guided custom LASIK after PKP did not totally correct both refractive errors and HOAs because of the high volume of laser ablation required and inadequate corneal stromal thickness. Financial Disclosure No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.