Long-term optical quality of the photoablated cornea

J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 2007 Mar;24(3):588-96. doi: 10.1364/josaa.24.000588.

Abstract

High-order coreal wavefront analysis was performed in a population of 60 myopic eyes that underwent photorefractive keratectomy. Corneal aberration data over 3, 5, and 7 mm pupils were collected for up to three years after surgery. The optical performance of the anterior cornea was characterized by estimation of the modulation transfer function (MTF) and the point-spread function. The high-order corneal wavefront aberrations were shown to stabilize one year after surgery. Over photopic pupils, after an early slight increase, corneal RMS-high-order aberrations (HOA) tended to decrease toward preoperative values. On the other hand, over mid- and large-pupil sizes, corneal HOA significantly increased compared with the preoperative state, while the optical performance of the cornea was diminished. The MTF ratio showed a distinct decline in the optical quality of postoperative corneas at low and middle spatial frequencies over larger pupils in the range between 6 and 19 c/deg, especially for deeper ablations.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Computer Simulation
  • Cornea / physiopathology*
  • Cornea / surgery*
  • Corneal Topography / methods*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Models, Biological*
  • Myopia / diagnosis
  • Myopia / physiopathology*
  • Myopia / surgery*
  • Treatment Outcome