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

Abstract 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.