Effect of Intraoperative Corneal Stromal Pocket Irrigation in Small Incision Lenticule Extraction.
This study aimed at evaluating the effect of intraoperative corneal pocket irrigation in small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and compares it to that in femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK). Sixteen rabbit eyes underwent a SMILE procedure, with 8 eyes having corneal pocket irrigation, while the other 8 eyes were without irrigation. Another 16 eyes underwent a FS-LASIK procedure for comparison, with 8 eyes having flap irrigation, while the other 8 eyes were without irrigation. The results showed that the changes in the total corneal thickness, anterior and posterior lamellar thickness, measured by the anterior segment optical coherence tomography, were comparable between the SMILE with and without irrigation groups, suggesting that the irrigation did not lead to significant changes in the corneal thickness. However, at postoperative 8 hours, in vivo confocal microscopy showed that the interface reflectivity in the SMILE with irrigation group was significantly higher than that in other three groups. The presence of interface fluid was further confirmed by the identification of fluid pockets with undulated collagen shown on histological section in the post-SMILE with irrigation eyes. Our findings might contribute to the occurrence of post-SMILE delayed immediate visual quality recovery and further clinical study is required.
Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore ; Singapore National Eye Centre, 11 Third Hospital Avenue, Singapore 168751.
Yu-Chi
YC
Liu
Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore ; Singapore National Eye Centre, 11 Third Hospital Avenue, Singapore 168751.
Lasitha
L
Jayasinghe
Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore.
Heng Pei
HP
Ang
Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore.
Nyein Chan
NC
Lwin
Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore.
Gary Hin Fai
GH
Yam
Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore ; Singapore National Eye Centre, 11 Third Hospital Avenue, Singapore 168751 ; Department of Clinical Sciences, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore ; School of Material Science & Engineering and School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Jodhbir S
JS
Mehta
D000818:Animals; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003319:Corneal Stroma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D007430:Intraoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D020731:Keratomileusis, Laser In Situ / Q000379:methods*; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods*; D011817:Rabbits; D054140:Refractive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation / Q000379:methods*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D016896:Treatment Outcome