Effect of corneal epithelial remodeling on visual outcomes of topography-guided femtosecond LASIK

To assess the effect of epithelial remodeling on visual outcomes over a 9 mm diameter corneal surface after topography-guided laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) for myopia correction using spectral-domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT).Outpatient clinical practice at the Stanford University Byers Eye Institute in Palo Alto, California.Prospective nonrandomized observational study.Visual acuity, including uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), 5% and 25% contrast sensitivity CDVA, manifest refraction, and corneal epithelial thickness after topography-guided femtosecond LASIK were analyzed. Corneal epithelial thickness was mapped across 13 sections and 3 concentric zones using AS-OCT preoperatively and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months postoperatively.60 eyes of 30 patients with a mean age of 32.8 years (range 23 to 52 ± 7.03 years) undergoing myopic LASIK correction were assessed. In eyes with complete follow-up data (n = 30), mean preoperative UDVA was logMAR 1.48 ± 0.45 and logMAR -0.11 ± 0.08 at postoperative 12 months. Mean preoperative CDVA was logMAR -0.08 ± 0.11 and logMAR -0.13 ± 0.07 at 12 months. Linear mixed modeling demonstrated a significant correlation between improvement in UDVA and decreased superior and nasal corneal epithelial thickness and between improvement in CDVA and increased central epithelial thickness 12 months postoperatively.Improvement in UDVA and CDVA at 12 months after topography-guided femtosecond LASIK was correlated with nonuniform epithelial remodeling, including epithelial thickening in the central zone and thinning in the superior and nasal sections as measured by AS-OCT.