Visual outcome after femtosecond laser-assisted keratoplasty versus conventional penetrating technique

Abstract

Purpose To evaluate and compare the visual outcome after femtosecond laser-assisted keratoplasty (FLAK) versus conventional penetrating technique. Settings and design This is a nonrandomized prospective comparative study that included a total of 30 eyes of 30 patients (16 females and 14 males) who underwent keratoplasty at three private eye centers in Assiut city, Egypt. These patients were divided into two groups: group I included 15 patients who were subjected to femtosecond laser-assisted penetrating keratoplasty and group II included 15 patients who were subjected to conventional penetrating keratoplasty (PKP). Patients and methods Visual outcome and intraoperative and postoperative complications were evaluated over a 18-month follow-up period. Statistical analysis Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS program. Student t test, paired sample t test, and χ 2 test were used for the comparisons. Results Both uncorrected and best-corrected visual acuity showed marked improvement in both groups at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months postoperatively. However, FLAK group showed statistically better uncorrected and best-corrected visual acuity at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months compared with conventional PKP group (all P<0.01). The mean sphere improved significantly in both groups at all follow-up periods. Flattest K (K1), steepest K (K2), and K mean showed a significant reduction in both groups at all follow-up periods with no significant differences between groups. Lower occurrence of postoperative complications was noticed in FLAK group compared with PKP group, with a nonsignificant difference (P=0.255). Conclusion Both techniques are effective, but FLAK has been shown to result in faster and better visual recovery, with significantly less astigmatism and lower complications compared with conventional PKP.