laser in situ keratomileusis for the treatment of refractive errors in patients with multiple sclerosis

purpose : to assess the outcomes of laser in situ keratomileusis (lasik) in patients with multiple sclerosis (ms) methods : 15 eyes of 8 patients with ms (2 men and 6 women) who referred for myopia treatment (with or without astigmatism) were undergone lasik. after refractive and visual acuity examinations, topographic and pachymetry screening, intraocular pressure (iop) measurement, biomicroscopy and retinal examination, those eligible for the lasik surgery were included in the study. patients with any signs and symptoms of optic neuritis in at least 6 months prior to the surgery were excluded. the patients were followed-up between 6 months (one patient) to 5 years after surgery. mean spherical equivalent (se), uncorrected visual acuity (ucva) and best corrected visual acuity (bcva) of the patients were recorded at 6 month after surgery. follow-ups were done at the same day of the surgery and a week, 1, 6 months, and on annual basis after surgery. results : mean age of the patients was 28.88±6.38 years and the ms diagnosis in patients dated back to 5.31±3.83 years before the study. the first episode of attacks happened 1.04±0.59 years after surgery. mean se of patients was -4.10±1.67 d before surgery that improved to -0.27±0.29 d after it. mean ucva of the patients was 0.11±0.07 before surgery and improved to 0.86±0.18 after surgery. mean bcva of the patients was 0.89±0.18 before and after surgery. paired sample t-test showed significant differences between mean se and mean ucva differences both before and after surgery. conclusion : in our study, lasik seems to be a safe surgery in ms patients.   iranian journal of ophthalmology 201022(3):9-12 © 2010 by the iranian society of ophthalmology