Topography-Guided Ablations: Early US Experience and Utility Across the Refractive Landscape

Abstract

This paper evaluated topography-guided excimer ablations and recent US experience of this technology. Personal clinical experience, initial approval of the technique, and its application to a potential extended spectrum of clinical conditions was reviewed. Topography-guided ablation can precisely treat corneas with variable topographic indices and attempt to neutralize irregularities by combining myopic and hyperopic ablation profiles. The T-CAT Phase III study demonstrated the safety and efficacy of this technique, which earned FDA approval in 2013. Current literature has reinforced its efficacy and explored off-label investigations, such as its use to improve visual results in abnormal corneas (e.g., keratoconus, post-LASIK ectasia). Topography-guided ablation provides increased quality of vision without necessitating excess tissue removal in otherwise normal, keratoconic, ectatic, or post-corneal transplant eyes. In the future, we will likely see a combination of treatment strategies, enabling ophthalmologists to treat the entire refractive surface and refine these already remarkable results.