Visual Acuity and Prognosis among Hyperopic Patients Undergoing Photorefractive Keratectomy Using Allegretto EX500 Excimer Laser

This study aims to investigate the visual acuity and prognosis after photorefractive keratectomy among hyperopic patients with and without astigmatism.

In this interventional case series study, 74 eyes from 42 hyperopia patients with and without astigmatism who underwent photorefractive keratectomy using Allegretto EX500 excimer laser at Torfeh and Negah Eye Hospitals from 2014 to 2018 were enrolled. Pre-and postsurgical visual examination findings, including uncorrected distance visual acuity, corrected distance visual acuity, manifest refraction, cyclorefraction, and slit lamp examinations to measure ocular pressure and the presence or absence of haze, were recorded.

The mean age of participants was 34 ± 9 years, and 54.8 % were female. The preoperative mean uncorrected distance visual acuity was 0.55 ± 0.25 LogMAR, which significantly improved to 0.11 ± 0.14 at 6 months postoperatively (P < 0.0001). The predictive value for surgical outcomes at six months post-operation was 71.6 % within ± 0.5 diopter, 89.2 % within ± 1 diopter, and 97.3 % within ± 2 diopters. No eye lost corrected distance visual acuity of two lines or more, and only 16.6 % (12 eyes) experienced a one-line reduction in corrected distance visual acuity. No other notable complications occurred.

Photorefractive keratectomy using Allegretto EX500 excimer laser is an effective and safe method for correcting mild to moderate hyperopia with or without astigmatism.