RESUMO
The purpose was to report the refractive and visual outcomes of laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy [LASEK] for the treatment of myopia. A retrospective, noncomparative consecutive case series of 173 of 91 patients who had undergone LASEK is presented. Primary outcome variables included uncorrected visual acuity [UCVA], best spectacle-corrected visual acuity [BSCVA], manifest refraction, epithelialization time, pain, haze, and complications. Preoperatively, the mean spherical equivalent [SE] was -3.71 +/- 1.63 D [range, -0.875 D to 8.25 D], and the mean LogMAR BSCVA was -0.0374 +/- 0.0767 D [range, -0.47 D to 0.00 D]. On the final visit, the mean SE was -0.05 +/- 0.335 D [range, -1.63 D to 1.00 D], the mean LogMAR UCVA was 0.04674 +/- 0.0771 D [range, -0.3010 D to 0.1249 D] and the mean LogMAR BSCVA was -0.0164 +/- 0.0497 [range -0.3010 to 0.124]. All eyes achieved vision of 20/40 or better, and 83.2% of the eyes achieved a vision of 20/25 or better. One 64 [94.94%] and all the eyes were within +/- 0.50 D and +/- 1.00 D of the attempted correction respectively. Complete epithelialization occurred in 4.70 +/- 2.09 days [range, 2-10 days]. At the final visit, 79.7% of eyes had a clear cornea. Grade 1 haze developed in 17.34% of the eyes, grade 2 haze developed in 2.89% of eyes developed; no eyes developed grade 3 or 4 haze. LASEK is a safe, effective, and predictable method for the treatment of myopia and myopic astigmatism