A 10-year prospective audit of LASIK outcomes for myopia in 37,932 eyes at a single institution in Asia.
OBJECTIVE
This study evaluates the efficacy, predictability and safety of LASIK surgery as a treatment for myopia performed as part of a large-scale, prospective clinical audit spanning 10 years in an Asian study population and to evaluate the outcomes and trends.


METHODS
Prospective, nonrandomized, single-center, multisurgeon study.


METHODS
We included 37,932 eyes of 19,753 patients that underwent myopic LASIK at the Singapore National Eye Centre between 1998 and 2007.


METHODS
All eyes underwent LASIK as a treatment for myopia. Pre- and postoperative refractions, uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were documented.


METHODS
Safety, efficacy, refractive predictability, treatment trends, retreatment rates, and complications for mild, moderate, and high myopia according to spherical equivalence (SE) of less than -5.00 diopters (D), -5.00 D or more to less than -10.0 D, and -10.00 D or more, respectively.


RESULTS
Patients' median age was 32 years (mean, 33.0+/-7.9 years); there were 6832 males (34.6%) and 12,921 females included. Patients were predominantly ethnic Chinese (90.5%). Mean follow-up time was 68.8 days. The mean spherical error corrected was -5.90+/-2.57 D (median, -5.625 D), and outcomes were categorized into low, moderate, or high myopia. The UCVA achieving > or =20/40 has been consistently above 90% since 2000, with 72.8% achieving > or =20/20. More than 93.0% of eyes achieved within +/-1.00 D target in the last 4 years. An improvement in safety was observed since the start of the study, with the best outcomes observed in 2007; loss of 1 and 2 Snellen line BCVA postoperatively was 2.4% and 0.1%, respectively. The overall retreatment rate was 3.8%; 91% of retreated eyes achieved UCVA of > or =20/30. Between 1998 and 2007, there was a significant improvement in postoperative UCVA and BCVA (P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Myopic LASIK performed in Asian eyes within a comprehensive LASIK clinical program with appropriate clinical audit governance can be safe and effective, with high refractive predictability. Improvements in the nomograms to prevent undercorrection and to compensate for myopic regression have led to better efficacy after LASIK, with an increasing percentage of patients achieving 20/15 visual acuity postoperatively.
Singapore National Eye Centre, 11 Third Hospital Avenue, Singapore.
Leonard H
LH
Yuen
Wing Kwong
WK
Chan
Jane
J
Koh
Jodhbir S
JS
Mehta
Donald T
DT
Tan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D020731:Keratomileusis, Laser In Situ; D054018:Lasers, Excimer / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D009216:Myopia / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012029:Refraction, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D019233:Retreatment; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult