Outcomes of Refractive Laser Surgery at Eagle Eye Laser Centre, Nairobi- a Retrospective Case Series

Abstract

Study title Outcomes of refractive laser surgery at Eagle Eye Laser Centre, Nairobi: A retrospective case series. Study objective To evaluate the outcomes of refractive laser surgery at Eagle Eye Laser Centre, Nairobi, Kenya from 6th October 2010 to 31st December 2016. Methodology The study was a retrospective case series on the outcomes of refractive laser surgery in 785 eyes followed up over a 6-month period. Different degrees of refractive errors ranging from +4.75DS to -10.00DS were treated. 449 eyes underwent LASIK, 304 eyes underwent PRK and 32 eyes underwent presbyLASIK. Operated patients were evaluated at week 1, month 1, month 3 and month 6 follow up visits. Retreatments were also done where necessary. The postoperative results were categorized in terms of efficacy, stability and safety. Results At 6 months, combining both LASIK and PRK, a postoperative UCVA of 6/6 or better was achieved in 85.6% of the eyes. There was no statistically significant difference between the two procedures. However, visual recovery was noted to occur faster following LASIK as compared to PRK. A postoperative MRSE of within 0.50DS was achieved in 93.5% of the eyes in both groups, with no statistically significant difference between these two procedures. Both procedures were stable with minimal regression at final follow up visit. Both procedures were also safe with less than 2% of the operated eyes losing 2 or more Snellen lines of BCVA, and recording few intraoperative and postoperative complications. Conclusion Both LASIK and PRK are effective, stable and safe surgical methods for correction of refractive errors. However, recovery of vision is faster following LASIK as compared to PRK regardless of the refractive error. Research on long term efficacy, stability and safety, and patient satisfaction following keratorefractive surgery should be carried out to increase the available knowledge on keratorefractive surgery.