photorefractive keratectomy; indications, techniques, prevention & treatment of complications

photorefractive keratectomy is a preprogrammed surface corneal refractive ablation which is aimed to reduce or eliminate myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism through the removal of the corneal surface epithelium and basement membrane and the application of excimer laser photoablation to bowman membrane and anterior stroma. the epithelium then begins to cover the wound, in direct contact with the anterior stroma instead of bowman membrane. since approval of the use of the excimer laser to reshape the cornea, significant developments in the correction of refractive errors have been achieved. despite these advances, certain limitations and complications do exist. so it is time well spent for the practitioners to ensure that the patient has realistic expectations and a thorough knowledge of the complications . the surgeon should not get involved in special cases without previous experience. this article relies on published literature to describe the basic knowledge, indications, surgical issues, patient selection, mitomycin use, and prevention of the complicating.