Casebeer System for refractive keratotomy: patient satisfaction.

PURPOSE: To evaluate patient satisfaction 3 years after radical keratotomy (RK) using the Casebeer nomograms. SETTING: The Werblin Center, Princeton, West Virginia. METHODS: This study assessed the satisfaction of 96 patients who had bilateral distance correction by RK using the Casebeer System. The cases were part of the first 241 consecutive refractive keratotomy procedures (N = 128 patients) performed by one surgeon. Ninety-nine percent of the 96 patients in this study completed a questionnaire on satisfaction and visual symptoms 3 years postoperatively. A separate control population of 105 consecutive patients about to have RK surgery were asked to complete a questionnaire about their preoperative symptoms. RESULTS: Ninety-eight percent of patients were very to moderately satisfied 3 years after the procedure, 99% said they would have surgery again if given the chance, and 96% said they would recommend it to others. However, 69% stated they had mild to very severe symptoms 3 years postoperatively compared with 28% in the control group. CONCLUSION: Despite an extremely high degree of patient satisfaction, about 99%, the 1% dissatisfaction rate seen in this study could have be very significant in this young, potentially litigious patient population.

Serum ferritin and myocardial infarct.

In a recent Finnish study, an association of high serum ferritin levels with excess risk of myocardial infarction in men was reported. This was the first such report in the literature so we decided to review the clinical records of 298 male patient seen over a 10-year period in Southern West Virginia, in whom serum ferritin levels were obtained. Of the 32 patients who experienced an acute myocardial infarction, there were no significant statistical differences between their mean ferritin levels and the ferritin levels of the 266 patients with no myocardial infarct. Only two of the 32 patients with myocardial infarct showed an elevated serum ferritin level, so our findings do not support the hypothesis that high serum ferritin levels are associated with myocardial infarct.