Comparison of visual outcomes and flap morphology using 2 femtosecond-laser platforms

Abstract

To compare the 3-month postoperative refractive results and flap thickness homogeneity after correction of myopia using the Intralase femtosecond platform and the Victus dual femtosecond laser platform. SETTING: Novovision Clinic, Madrid, Spain. DESIGN: Prospective case series. METHODS: Eyes treated with a 60 kHz femtosecond laser (Group 1) and eyes treated with a dual femtosecond laser (Group 2) were included. The refractive results 3 months postoperatively were compared. The differences between the maximum and the minimum thickness point of each flap, the intraflap standard deviation (SD), and the achieved and the targeted central flap thickness were evaluated in each group. RESULTS: The study comprised 31 eyes in Group 1 and 20 eyes in Group 2. Three months postoperatively, the uncorrected distance visual acuity, residual refraction, efficacy, safety, and predictability were significantly better in Group 1. The dual femtosecond laser induced a significantly greater increase in higher-order aberrations than the conventional femtosecond laser. The mean central flap thickness was 123.2 μm ± 9.2 (SD) in Group 1 and 116.3 ± 14.4 μm in Group 2 (P = .005). The mean difference between the maximum and the minimum flap thickness points in each flap was significantly lower in Group 1 than in Group 2 (22 ± 8.3 μm versus 35.7 ± 16.9 μm) (P = .0007). The intraflap SD was significantly lower in Group 1 than in Group 2 (6.1 μm versus 10.8 μm) (P = .0001). CONCLUSION: The conventional femtosecond laser provided better efficacy, safety, predictability, and flap thickness homogeneity than the dual femtosecond laser for the correction of myopia. [Publisher abstract].