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By Roibeard O'hEineachain A symposium at this year's ESCRS conference in Nice may help dispel the confusion surrounding the relative merits of LASIK, PRK and LASEK, according to session Chairman and Organiser Prof Dan Epstein. "There is an acute controversy about which one of the three different methods will provide the best results. The advent of wavefront-guided ablation systems has added to the confusion and it is our hope that this symposium will provide some clarity on the issue," Prof Epstein said in an interview with EuroTimes. The symposium, entitled "LASIK vs PRK vs LASEK," will include three clinical presentations on each of the techniques and three presentations of basic science. Three experienced surgeons will each explain the advantages of one of the procedures while the basic science portion of the session will include discussions on what actually happens to the eye after each of the procedures in terms of optics, cellular morphology and corneal biomechanics. In the first half of the session Michael Knorz MD (Germany) will discuss whether LASIK deserves the immense popularity it has attained. Niels Ehlers MD (Denmark) will explain why many surgeons continue to perform PRK. And finally, Daniel Durrie MD (USA) will question whether LASEK is just a 'flash in the pan' technique for today's ophthalmologist. Each of the surgeons will present their own results with the techniques as well as data from the latest peer reviewed papers. In the second half of the symposium, Ray Applegate PhD (USA) will analyse the difference between the three techniques in terms of wavefront aberrations. He will discuss whether there are more aberrations after LASIK, PRK or LASEK and which of the techniques is likely to work best with the new wavefront-guided systems. In addition, Jorge Alio MD (Spain) will present his research on the cellular and morphological changes in the cornea induced by the three techniques as viewed through confocal microscopy. Cynthia Roberts PhD (USA) will describe the effect each of the three techniques has on the biomechanics of the cornea. She will present her latest research into which of the three techniques gives the most predictable results in terms of corneal curvature and topography. "This symposium will address one of the major concerns in refractive surgery. The average refractive surgeon doesn't have enough access to the latest research and technology to make an informed decision. "We are trying to clear up some of the clouds. We are not going to present definitive answers but we will give the surgeons the information supply available so they can make up their own minds," Prof Epstein added. |
