FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW - TREATING MYOPIA WITH THE EXCIMER-LASER - THE PRESENT POSITION

Excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy is the latest in a long line of surgical treatments for myopia (short sightedness) Around 50 centres (including three research centres) in the United Kingdom offer this treatment and tens of thousands of patients have been treated worldwide Considerable individual variation in corneal wound healing exists following photorefractive keratectomy, and this limits the predictability of the procedure Predictability of refractive outcome is much better for lower amounts of myopia (up to around - 6.00 dioptres) Important side effects exist which are all more common in people with higher myopia (regression, corneal haze, loss of best corrected visual acuity) Overall patient satisfaction is high and around 85% of patients are pleased with the outcome even if this is a partial correction only Careful patient selection and counselling are vitally important, and all patients must be fully informed of possible side effects. © 1995, BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. All rights reserved.