Transepithelial Photorefractive Keratectomy for Hyperopia: A 12-Month Bicentral Study.

PURPOSE To investigate the safety, efficacy, and stability of transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for hyperopia. METHODS This interventional case series study at two sites included 55 eyes (31 patients) with hyperopia (0.50 to 6.00 diopters [D]), with or without astigmatism (0.00 to -3.00 D), that underwent one-step transepithelial PRK with a Amaris 500-Hz excimer laser (SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions, Kleinostheim, Germany). A 12-month follow-up was conducted. Preoperative and successive postoperative visual acuity, manifest refraction, haze, and other complication data were analyzed. RESULTS The preoperative mean spherical equivalent of 2.56 ± 1.90 D improved to emmetropia (-0.08 ± 0.14 D) by 6 months, with subsequent slight mean regression of 0.024 D (range: -0.75 to 0.50) until month 12. Of the treated eyes, 75% and 76.2% were within the target refraction of ±0.50 D at 6 and 12 months postoperatively, respectively. The final mean cylindric refraction was comparable to the preoperative value (-0.94 ± 0.12 to -0.71 ± 0.12 D, P = .17); however, it was induced in 23% of eyes. The preoperative mean uncorrected distance visual acuity logMAR of 0.54 ± 0.05 significantly improved to 0.15 ± 0.03 by month 12 (P < .0001), and 64.2% of the treated eyes gained an uncorrected distance visual acuity of 20/25 or better. Ten eyes (23.8%) lost one line of preoperative corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA). No eye lost two or more lines of preoperative CDVA. Four eyes with a 3+ degree of haze were observed by the final visit. No other notable complications occurred. The low hyperopic eyes exhibited better overall results compared to the moderate hyperopic group. CONCLUSIONS One-step transepithelial PRK with the Amaris 500-Hz excimer laser provided reasonable outcomes for the correction of hyperopia with or without mild to moderate astigmatism.