Quantitative evaluation of post-superficial photoablation visual quality with Microscan Visum in myopic patients
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate quantitative visual quality three months after superficial photoablative treatment in photorefractive keratectomy and transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy-TransPRK with mitomycin C performed with the Microscan Visum laser platform in patients with myopic ametropias.
Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in 124 patients. Sixty-two patients treated with photorefractive keratectomy with mitomycin C (control group) and 62 patients treated with transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy-TransPRK with mitomycin C (experimental group) were matched for preoperative visual and biometric characteristics. Visual quality was analyzed quantitatively with postoperative uncorrected visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and the presence of corneal high-order aberrations.
Results: The median patient age was 25 years, and the median sex was female in both groups. The proportion of patients achieving a SCVA of 20/40 was 100% in both groups, and 98% of those achieving a SCVA of 20/20. Corneal RMS for high-order aberrations and corneal spherical aberrations increased significantly after surgery (>80%). Both groups (PRK-MMC and TransPRK-MMC) showed decreased contrast sensitivity after surgery.
Conclusions: Both techniques (PRK-MMC and TransPRK-MMC) achieved excellent uncorrected visual acuity. However, an increase in higher-order optical aberrations and a reduction in contrast sensitivity were observed, which may affect patients' perceived visual quality, especially in low-light environments.
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