BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
To calculate the actual corneal flap thickness during laser in-situ keratomileusis.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
Fifty-four women and 26 men with refractive error were enrolled in the study. Flaps were created using a MK-2000 microkeratome (Nidek, Gamagori, Japan) with a 130-µm head. The comparisons between both operated eyes of a patient and the correlations between flap thickness and confounding factors were analyzed.
RESULTS
The average flap thicknesses were 134.0 ± 16.5 and 112.3 ± 14.4 µm in the first and second operated eye groups, respectively, and the data showed a significant difference between the two groups (P < .001). There were positive correlations between central corneal thickness and flap thickness (first group, P = .017; second group, P = .041).
CONCLUSION
The flap thicknesses of the first operated eye group were thicker than those of the second operated eye group and there was a positive correlation between the flap thickness and central corneal thickness. The coefficient of variation of the flap thickness was greater in the second group than in the first group.
[Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging 2009;40:448-452.]
AUTHORS
From the Department of Ophthalmology (S-YH), Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital and Institute of Medical Sciences, and the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan; the Department of Ophthalmology (H-YC), China Medical University Hospital; and the Department of Ophthalmology (C-PC), College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Accepted for publication October 16, 2008.
The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in the materials presented herein.
The authors thank Professor Jung-Chung Lin, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, for manuscript review and suggestions and Barry Lee Reynolds, National Chiayi University Language Center, Chiayi, Taiwan, for the English revision.
Address correspondence to Sheng-Yao Hsu, MD, Department of Ophthalmology, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital and Institute of Medical Sciences, and Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No 707, Section 3, Chung Yang Road, Hualien, Taiwan.
doi: 10.3928/15428877-20090901-02
