Influence of intraocular pressure on the photorefractive keratectomy for myopia correction. a numerical analysis

Abstract Purpose To analyze the effect of the intraocular pressure (IOP) on the refractive correction achieved by the Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) surgery using a biomechanical model of the human eye. Methods A three‐dimensional finite element model of the human eye was used to simulate the PRK surgery. A hyperelastic constitutive behavior was assumed for all the tissues of the model. Simulations of PRK surgery for five levels of myopia (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 diopters) at three physiological healthy values of IOP (10, 15 and 21 mmHg) were performed and the post‐surgical diopters were estimated. Results For low and medium values of IOP (10 and 15 mmHg), the computed results were close to those used by clinicians and defined without considering the IOP, while undercorrection was predicted for the highest value of IOP (21 mmHg) in the 8 and 10 diopter correction cases. Conclusion From these results, we suggest that IOP should be considered in the determination of the depth of ablation, in addition to other factors.