Long term results for transepithelial and standard photorefractive keratectomy in the treatment of moderate to low myopia and astigmatism

Purpose: To evaluate the results of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and transepithelial PRK (t-PRK) in moderate and low-grade myopia and astigmatism. Materials and Methods:The records of 144 eyes of 72 t-PRK and 132 eyes of 66 PRK patients were retrospectively analysed.Pre and postoperative 36-month best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and refractive errors were recorded.Surgical values as well as postoperative epithelial healing and haze staging were also recorded. Results:The average age of t-PRK patients was 28.296.8years, and the average age in the PRK patient group was 28.155.0years.The time to epithelial closure was significantly longer in the PRK group compared to the t-PRK group.T-PRK and PRK group showed significant improvement in postoperative BCVA, spherical and cylindrical refraction. Conclusion:T-PRK and PRK procedure was found to be both effective and safe in our population group.