The evaluation of corneal subbasal nerve regeneration with in vivo confocal microscopy in patients on whom FS-LASIK or SMILE was performed

Session Details

Session Title: Presented Poster Session 16: Small Incision Lenticule Extraction

Session Date/Time: Monday 15/09/2014 | 15:00-17:00

Paper Time: 16:30

Venue: Pod 1 (Poster Village)

First Author: : A.Ağca TURKEY

Co Author(s): :    K. Çankaya   D. Yaşa   Y. Yıldırım   İ. Yılmaz   Ö. Yılmaz   A. Demirok

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To evaluate the postoperative corneal nerve regeneration of the patients whom femtosecond LASIK (FS-LASIK) or small insicion lenticule extraction (SMILE) was performed with in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM).

Setting:

Beyoglu Eye Research and Training Hospital

Methods:

Thirty patients who was treated by SMILE in a eye and FS-LASIK in the other eye were included in this study. The inclusion criteria were; having no contrindications for standart LASIK surgery, a spherical equivalent lower than 10 diopter and having no systemic disease anamnesis. Patients who were treated according to those criteria, were followed up using IVCM (Confoscan 4, Nidek, Italy) 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after the surgery. The regeneration of the subbasal nerve plexus, average nerve fiber count and length were evaluated. For statistical analysis, SPSS 20.0 programme was used.

Results:

Of the patients, 13 (%43.3) were male and 17 (%56.7) were female. The mean age was 26.58± 4,76 (19-39). The average nerve fiber count of the SMILE group (8,94±3,56/mm²) in the first week follow up was significantly superior to the FS-LASIK group (6,31±4,95/mm²) (p=0,014). There were no significant difference in nerve fiber length between groups in this period. [SMILE: 985,31±565,22 microns/mm², FS-LASIK: 995,31±538,92 microns/mm²; (p=0,929)]. In the 1, 3. and 6. months follow ups, either the nerve fiber length or the nerve fiber count in SMILE group was superior to the FS-LASIK group but the difference was insignificant statistically.

Conclusions:

The average nerve fiber count and length in the SMILE group was determined superior to the measurements of the FS-LASIK group especially in the early postoperative period but no significant difference was assigned in the late postoperative period.

Financial Interest:

NONE