[Photoablative, refractive keratectomy in treatment of myopia. A case study of 134 myopic eyes with 6-months follow-up].

A total of 106 myopic eyes and 134 eyes with sight were operated on with photorefractive keratectomy. To perform these operations the two surgeons used an excimer laser made by Aesculap-Meditec, emitting a wavelength of 193 nm. Patients were assigned to one of four groups according to refraction. The majority of patients had moderately high to high myopia, i.e., over 6 D. All patients could no longer wear spectacles or had developed contact lens intolerance. The follow-up period extended over 6 months. Depending upon the amount of correction desired in myopia, i.e., between -3D and -15 D, we ablated between 30 and 130 microns of the central corneal stroma after abrading the epithelium. The optical zone had a diameter of 5 mm. Three months after the operation a reduction of myopia by 10.6 D had been achieved in the group with moderately high myopia (10-20 D). In the group of high myopia (over 20 D), the mean correction was 13.4 D. In the group with refraction between 0 and 6 D, 88% of the eyes treated had attained a correction between -1 and +1 D 3 months postoperatively. The results in the group with myopia between 6 to 10 D were similar attaining a refraction of -1 and +1 D. Regression of 2 to 5 D occurred in all patients during the follow-up period of 6 months, depending on the degree of correction. We noted a slight subepithelial reticular haze in all eyes. In 98% of the cases the haze was clinically irrelevant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)