Iop Monitoring Before And After Lasik Surgery, A Close Evaluation Regimen

Intraocular pressure remains one of the most important factors that require frequent and accurate monitoring for patients seeking vision correction surgery. We aim to draw attention to the importance of intraocular pressure evaluation before and after LASIK surgery.

Maadi eyecare hospital, Cairo, Egypt

We evaluate 150 eyes of 75 patients who underwent LASIK vision correction surgery at our practice. Intraocular pressure (IOP) and central corneal thickness were the key parameters measured for this study. IOP was measured using the Goldmann applanation tonometer. Central corneal thickness was measured using the OCULUS pentacam  (OCULUS Pentacam® Wetzlar, Germany). All patients underwent lasik vision correction using the (Alegretto Ex500, Alcon, USA) laser vision correction system

Postoperative evaluation of patients was done 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months postoperative.

150 eyes showed a mean iop of 14 mmHg preoperatively. Mean CCT was 540 Micorns. 144 eyes Postoperative mean iop was 13.8 microns after adjusting for decrease in CCT after lasik surgery. 4 eyes showed a mean rise in postoperative iop of 24.6 mmHg which improved after disontinuation of corticosteroid eyedrops over the course of 3 months. 2 eyes of one patient cpuld not be assessed due to faliure to show up for all postoperative visits

Rise of iop and even development of glaucoma after lasik surgery can be due to numerous factors including incorrect measuring methods, inability to adjust iop for change in central corneal thickness, or due to steroid induced rise in IOP which can be missed by many doctors or due to prolonged use of corticosteroid eyedrops postoperatively. A close monitoring and good patient education on glaucoma and iop changes is an important part of long term followup of lasik patients