I-LASIK retreatment of residual refractive errors after microkeratome and femtosecond assisted LASIK

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and safety of femtosecond-assisted sub-bowman keratomileusis (I-LASIK) retreatment for residual refractive errors after either I-LASIK or microkeratome assisted LASIK. Methods We performed i-lasik retreatment in 14 eyes of 10 patients (mean age 37) for residual myopic and astigmatic refractive errors after previous both i-lasik and lasik procedures. All patients had stable residual refractive errors for at least 2 years. I-lasik was performed in all cases with AMO's IntraLase™ FS and STAR S4 IR™ Excimer Laser System, corneal flap thickness was 100µm and hinge position was 90 degrees with reverse 120° side cut. The optical zone of the ablation was from 6.5 to 7 mm, transition zone from 8 to 9 mm. Results Controls were made at 1day, 1 and 3 months. Anterior segment OCT and corneal confocal microscopy were performed in every case. No flap decentration was observed in any case, we had 2 cases of epithelial ingrowth, 4 cases of dry eye, no cases of corneal ectasia and no retinal complications. All spherical equivalent results were within 0.50 diopters. Conclusion In our experience I-lasik procedure demonstrated itself to be safe and effective also in patients with residual refractive errors from previous i-lasik and lasik treatments.