title: Late natural history of corneal topography after excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the 3 month to 1 year natural history of corneal topography after excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective, multicenter, nonrandomized comparative study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 75 eyes of 68 patients with myopia were studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  Excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy and computer-assisted videokeratography were performed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Preoperative and 3, 6, and 12 month postoperative topography patterns were compared and changes assessed by averaging defined sectors of the ablation zone in individual maps to produce composite "average" topography maps.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Corneal topography was relatively smooth 3 months after PRK. By 12 months, the corneal contour in general had become even more uniform. No "central island" effect was observed. When looking at right and left eyes independently, there was a tendency toward maximum flattening nasally.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Corneal topography in general continues to smooth from 3 to 12 months after PRK, possibly as a result of epithelial and stromal healing and remodeling. Right and left eyes on average show mirror-image, spatially oriented topography patterns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: U L
authors.initials: UL
authors.lastname: Abbas
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Hersh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003315:Cornea / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery; D019781:Corneal Topography; D006801:Humans; D054018:Lasers, Excimer; D008875:Middle Aged; D009216:Myopia / Q000601:surgery*; D018903:Photorefractive Keratectomy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014945:Wound Healing