Clinical study of femtosecond laser corneal small incision lenticule extraction for correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism

Abstract

To evaluate the safety, efficacy, predictability, stability and complications of femtosecond laser corneal small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) procedure for the correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism. In this prospective study, 50 patients (88 eyes) with myopia and myopic astigmatism were chosen to be performed SMILE procedure randomly. These patients were followed up at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months postoperatively and were examined for uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), manifest refraction, intraocular pressure (IOP) and corneal topography. The results were analyzed with paired-t test, independent-samples t test and regression analysis. SMILE procedure was performed well in all patients, only 3 cases (3 eyes, 3.4%) suffered from the suction loss, 14 cases (26 eyes, 29.5%) developed opaque bubble layer. All patients gained perfect UCVA (20/20), no eye had decrease of BCVA. The residual spherical equivalent was (-0.11 ± 0.29) D, the astigmatism was (0.01 ± 0.33) D 3 months postoperatively. The incidence of diffuse lamellar keratitis and haze was low, and no other complications were observed. The IOP was decreased slightly after 1 month(t = 6.238, P < 0.05), but no changes after 3 months (t = 0.053, P < 0.05). The SMILE procedure is good at the safety, efficacy, predictability and stability for the correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism.