Comparison of Complications of the Corneal Flap following LASIK by Three Different Manual Microkeratomes.

Kim, Doo Eun; Jo, Jin Man; Kim, Wan Soo

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 2003;44(11):2492-2498.
Published online November 1, 2003.

Comparison of Complications of the Corneal Flap following LASIK by Three Different Manual Microkeratomes.

Doo Eun Kim, Jin Man Jo, Wan Soo Kim

Department of Ophthalmology, Maryknoll Hospital, Busan, Korea. wansookim@yahoo.com

3종류의 수동식 미세각막절개도를 사용한 라식의 각막절편 합병증 비교

김두은 ( Kim Du Eun ) , 조진만 ( Jo Jin Man ) , 김완수 ( Kim Wan Su )

Abstract

PURPOSE
To compare and analyze intraoperative and postoperative complications of corneal flap in the LASIK procedures using different types of manual microkeratomes (MLK, LSK, disposable Barron). METHODS: Eight hundred sixty-two eyes were retrospectively evaluated to study the effects of 3 different microkeratomes on the frequency of complications, managements, and postoperative best visual acuity. The eyes were grouped according to the microkeratomes used in making corenal flap: Group 1 (334 eyes) treated with MLK(SCMD, USA); Group 2 (256 eyes), LSK(Moria, France); Group 3 (272 eyes), disposable Barron(Katena, USA). RESULTS: Mean follow-up period was 6.3 months and mean age was 29.2 years (range 20 39). Complications of corneal flap were observed in 74(7.9%) of 862 eyes. Intraoperative flap complications occurred in 15 eyes (4.5%), 6 eyes (2.4%) and 3 eyes (1.2%) in each group, respectively. The postoperative flap complications were observed in 24 eyes (7.2%), 17 eyes (6.7%) and 9 eyes (3.3%) in each group. The postoperative best corrected visual acuity decreased by 2 lines or more in 2 eyes (0.6%), 1 eye (0.4%) and none (0%) of each group. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of corneal flap-related complications by manual microkeratomes was relatively low. Disposable Barron microkeratome showed the lowest complication rate in our series. It also has an advantage of easy maneuverability, and reproducibility (equal size and thickness of corneal flap).

Key Words: Complication;Flap;LASIK;Microkeratome