ABSTRACT
To evaluate and present the results using phototherapeutic keratectomy for treatment of corneal diseases at King Hussein Medical Center. This was a retrospective study conducted at the Laser Refractive Unit in King Hussein Medical Center between October 2011 and May 2013. All patients who were scheduled for phototherapeutic keratectomy for various corneal conditions were included in the study. Patients with any systemic disease that would affect epithelial healing such as diabetes or systemic lupus were excluded from the study. Data was collected including patient's age, gender, visual acuity, primary diagnosis, refraction, corneal thickness using Pentacam [Oculus, Wetzlar, Germany] and presence of any systemic disease. All patients were followed after one week of treatment. Bandage contact lens was removed and the cornea checked for epithelial healing and the patients were followed up for at least 6 months after treatment. One hundred and forty-six eyes of 146 patients with a mean age of 57 years [range 7 to 74 years] were enrolled in the study, 87 of them were males. The most common type of corneal pathology found was band keratopathy [37%] followed by old superficial corneal scars [22%], other pathologies found included: Salzmann nodules [12%], bullous keratopathy [9%], spheroidal degeneration [6%], keratoconus with nebula [6%], granular dystrophy [3%], Reis Buckler dystrophy [3%] and recurrent corneal erosions syndrome [3%]. Ninety percent of patients experienced improvement in their vision. All patients showed satisfactory improvement in either visual acuity or symptoms of pain and discomfort in the immediate post operative period. Phototherapeutic keratectomy is a safe and very effective procedure to be used for treatment of various surface corneal lesions