First Author: W.Sekundo GERMANY
Co Author(s):
Purpose:
In ReLEx smile surgery a considerable peace of tissue is removed from within the cornea through a small incision. Theoretically, some compression striae could develop in the overlaying cup due to newly created space under the cup.
Setting:
: Department of Ophthalmology, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany.
Methods:
30 eyes of 18 patients after an uneventful routine ReLEx smile surgery for myopia and myopic astigmatism were enrolled. All corneas underwent a thorough slit lamp examination at the 1st, 4th day after surgery and at the 2 months follow-up. OCTscan study was performed on this last regular follow-up visit. Several scans were obtained in the centre and at the periphery of the femtosecond-resection induced area.
Results:
The mean spherical equivalent of the eyes treated was -6.75 D. No striae were detectable with any methods used. Interestingly, one patient who had ReLEx smile in one eye and ReLEx flex in the fellow eye showed microstriae in the fellow flap-based (FLEx) eye, but not in the SMILE eye.
Conclusions:
In contrast to the expectation based on pure mechanical approach ReLEx smile does not induce any microstriae in the cap. We speculate that our results confirm the idea of a better stability of post SMILE cornea due to preservation of peripheral corneal fibres.
Financial Disclosure:
None
