Objective: To compare the long-term outcomes of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and laser in situ keratomilesis (LASIK) for myopia between -6 and -10 D.
Methods: A retrospective, control-matched study including 68 eyes, 34 which underwent PRK and 34 LASIK, with myopia between -6 and -10 D, operated using the VISX 20/20 excimer laser, was performed. Optical zones of 5.5 to 6 mm were used. All PRK-treated eyes were matched with LASIK-treated eyes of the same age, spherical equivalent within +/-1.25 D, sphere within +/-1.5 D and cylinder within +/-2.5 D. All patients were evaluated 3 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years and 10 years after surgery. The main outcomes measures were refractive predictability and stability, safety, efficacy and re-treatment rate.
Results: At 10 years, 20 (71%) and 23 (88%) were within +/-1.00 D after PRK and LASIK respectively. The re-treatment rate was 35% and 18% respectively. No eye lost more than two lines of BSCVA in both groups. The efficacy was 0.90 for PRK and 0.95 for LASIK.
Conclusions: Both PRK and LASIK were safe for moderate myopia. LASIK demonstrated slightly better efficacy, predictability, and less rate of re-treatment after 10 years. The technical improvements should be taken into account when comparing these results with those obtained more recently.