title: Satisfaction after photorefractive keratectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate patient satisfaction one year after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for myopia and myopia astigmatism using the Nidek EC-5000 excimer laser.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study assessed the level of satisfaction of 6280 patients who underwent PRK after a minimum follow-up of 1 year. All patients were asked to enter their level of satisfaction as excellent, good, worthwhile, or disappointed into a networked computer database. Their responses were subsequently analyzed according to baseline and postoperative refractive data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients considered their results to be as follows: 82.3% good or excellent, 14.9% worthwhile, and 2.8% were disappointed with the outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A high percentage of patients were satisfied with the outcome following PRK. However, a fair number (14%) of patients considered the treatment to be worthwhile but it did not meet their expectations. Extensive counseling and inculcating realistic expectations before treatment is essential in achieving better patient satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: Optimax Laser Eye Clinics, England.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perera
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
mesh_terms: D001251:Astigmatism / Q000601:surgery*; D003315:Cornea / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D054018:Lasers, Excimer; D009216:Myopia / Q000601:surgery*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D018903:Photorefractive Keratectomy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome