Comparison of self-reported quality of vision outcomes after myopic LASIK with two femtosecond lasers: a prospective, eye-to-eye study

PURPOSE To compare self-reported quality of vision (QoV) outcomes after myopic LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) with two femtosecond lasers. DESIGN Prospective, randomized, eye-to-eye study. METHODS Consecutive myopic patients were treated with wavefront-guided LASIK bilaterally. Eyes were randomized according to ocular dominance. The flap of one eye was made with the IntraLase FS 60 kHz femtosecond laser with a conventional 70° side-cut, and the flap of the fellow eye was made with the IntraLase iFS 150 kHz femtosecond laser with an inverted 130° side-cut. Patients completed the validated, Rasch-tested, linear-scaled 30-item QoV questionnaire preoperatively and at Months 1, 3, 6, and 12. RESULTS The study enrolled 120 fellow eyes in 60 patients. None of the measured QoV parameters exhibited statistically significant differences between the groups preoperatively or at any postoperative time point. CONCLUSION Creating LASIK flaps with an inverted side-cut using a 150 kHz femtosecond laser and with a conventional 70° side-cut using a 60 kHz femtosecond laser resulted in no significant differences in self-reported QoV assessed by the QoV questionnaire.