ABSTRACT
To report the refractive and visual results of epithelial laser in situ keratomileusis [Epi-LASIK] for the treatment of myopia. Retrospective non-comparative consecutive case series. Sixty nine eyes of 40 patients had Epi-LASIK for the treatment of low myopia or myopic astigmatism. All epithelial separations were performed with the Visijet/Gebauer microkeratome. Primary outcome variables included uncorrected visual acuity [UCVA], best spectacle-corrected visual acuity [BSCVA], manifest refraction, epithelization time, pain, haze and complications. Preoperatively, the mean spherical equivalent [SE] was -3.9 diopters [D] +/- 1.6 D [range -.75 to -7.00 D] and the mean LogMAR BSCVA was 0.0131 +/- 0.04l [range -0.10 to 0.12]. On the final visit, the mean SE was -0.27+0.53D [range -2.50 to 0.50D], the mean logMAR UCVA was -0.079 +/- 0.13 [range -0.48 to 0.12] and the mean LogMAR BSCVA was 0.0039 +/- 0.053 [range -0.18 to 0.1]. 95.1% of eyes achieved a vision of 20/40 or better, and 70.5% achieved a vision of 20/25 or better. 73.8% and 95.1% of eyes were within +0.5D and+1.0D, respectively. Complete epithelialization occured in 6.2 +/- 1.4 days [range 3 to 8 days]; 93.4% of eyes had clear corneas or only trace haze at the final postoperative visit; 94.7% of eyes had no or minimal pain. Epi-LASIK is a safe, effective and predictable method for the treatment of low to moderate myopia and myopic astigmatism