[ comparison of ultrasonic and orbscan corneal pachymetry in corneal thickness measurement in the patients referred to Aban eye clinic, Isfahan]

ABSTRACT

With increased popularity of laser surgeries as a treatment for refractory errors and importance of pre-operative pachymetry for decreasing the complications of refractive surgery, correct measurement of corneal thickness is an important refractive procedure. There are two methods of corneal thickness measurement [phachymetry], optical method with orbscan system and ultrasonic method. This study was performed to compare the efficacy of these two methods in phachymetry. Corneal thicknesses of 324 eyes were measured with both orbscan and ultrasound phachymetry. Statistical analysis was performed using t-, ANOVA and correlation tests. Corneal thickness was 504.28 +/- 26.23micro using ultrasound pachymetry and 484.4 +/- 35.94micro using orbscan system. The difference between the two methods was statistically significant [p<0.001]. Corneal thickness measurement with orbscan and ultrasound systems might reveal different results and refractive surgeons should pay attention to this point