Refractive and visual results and patient satisfaction after excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy for myopia.

A study of excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy was performed on 108 patients. Variation in individual refractive outcome was noted, particularly for the higher levels of correction. At 12 months, of those with up to 3 dioptres of myopia, 93% were within 1 dioptre of emmetropia, 100% achieved an acuity of 6/12 unaided, 69% were very pleased with their result, and 10% were very disappointed. Of those with between 3.1 and 6 dioptres of myopia, the respective figures were 75%, 73%, 65%, and 11%. For those with over 6 dioptres of myopia the respective figures were 46%, 58%, 38%, and 23%. Some patients were disappointed despite having achieved good unaided visual acuity. Forty seven per cent of patients lost at least one Snellen line of best corrected acuity. Glare was a problem for some of the time in over 60%. Perceived distortion of vision was a problem for all of the time in 11% to 31% of cases depending on the initial level of myopia. In some cases the refraction continued to change between 12 months and 20 months.