Impact Of Intense Pulsed Light Therapy On Postoperative Dry Eye Of Patients Undergoing Femtosecond Laser Assisted Refractive Surgery: 6 Months Of Follow Up.
Published 2023 - 41st Congress of the ESCRS
Reference: FP27.01 | Type: Free paper | DOI: 10.82333/gz6v-5f08
Authors: María Martínez-Hergueta* 1 , Jorge Alió del Barrio 2 , Mario Cantó-Cerdán 2 , Alejandra Amesty 3 , Maria José García-Corral 2 , Laura Casanova-Blanquer 2
1Ophthalmology,Miguel Hernandez University,Alicante,Spain;Ophthalmology,Elda’s General University Hospital,Alicante,Spain, 2Cornea, Cataract & Refractive Surgery,VISSUM - Miranza Group,Alicante,Spain, 3Oculoplastic,VISSUM - Miranza Group,Alicante,Spain
Purpose
To describe the results of intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy for the prevention of dry eye in patients undergoing femtosecond assisted laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first clinical trial in which the IPL therapy is applied perioperatively for refractive surgery.
Setting
Vissum (Miranza Group), Alicante, Spain.
Methods
Double-blinded clinical trial (NCT05139511) in which patients were randomized into 2 groups: a study group (IPL and laser refractive surgery) and a control group (simulated IPL and laser refractive surgery). 3 IPL sessions were applied: 7 days before the surgery and 7 and 21 days after the surgery. The total postsurgical follow-up was 6 months. 1, 3 and 6-month data is presented here. Data collection included: examination at slit lamp, surface evaluation with Oculus Keratograph5M [tear meniscus height (TM), non-invasive tear break-up time (NIBUT), ocular redness, infrared meibography (IM) and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire], topographic and aberrometric evaluation, and visual analog scale (VAS) questionnaire of dry eye.
Results
60 patients were included (30 control and 30 study subjects). Mean age 32.9 years. No statistical differences were observed pre- or postoperative between SMILE and LASIK. Compared to control group, TM, NIBUT and IM showed significantly better scores in the study group at 1, 3 and 6 months (p<0.05), as well as the OSDI questionnaire (p=0.024) at 3 months. When comparing pre- and post-treatment data, a significant worsening was observed within the control group at 6 months in NIBUT and IM (p<0.05) and a non-significant worsening in TM (p>0.05). Within the study group, a significant overall trend towards better results was found in the VAS and OSDI questionnaires, TM, NIBUT and IM (p<0.05) except in ocular redness where there was no difference
Conclusions
Results from our double blinded clinical trial suggest that IPL therapy applied perioperatively to laser corneal refractive surgery demonstrates an improvement in objective ocular surface parameters (TM, NIBUT and IM) over non-IPL-treated control patients, as well as an improvement in early postoperative dry eye symptoms.