Anterior segment OCT analysis of thin IntraLase femtosecond flaps.

PURPOSE Anterior segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to analyze thin flaps created with the IntraLase femtosecond laser (IntraLase Corp). METHODS Twenty-five eyes of 25 patients had flaps created with the 60 kHz IntraLase femtosecond laser prior to excimer laser ablation. The desired flap thickness was 110 microm with a diameter of 8.5 mm for all eyes. At 1 month postoperatively, all eyes were evaluated with the Visante anterior segment OCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec). Four thickness measurements were obtained across the length of the flaps at the meridians of 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 135 degrees, and 180 degrees. Thus, 16 thickness measurements were analyzed for each flap. RESULTS Flaps were uniform (planar) with a mean thickness of 112 +/- 5 microm (range: 87 to 118 microm). Average standard deviation within the individual flaps was 4 microm (range: 1 to 8 microm). CONCLUSIONS The IntraLase femtosecond laser creates thin, uniform (planar) flaps with high predictability and reproducibility.