Evolution of LASIK

A marked increase in the number of younger patients and hyperopes being treated with LASIK were among some of the most significant findings of a French study looking at the evolution of LASIK patients over a 10-year period, according to Laurent Gauthier-Fournet MD. “Our study showed that all categories of the population undergo LASIK. The ratio of male-to-female patients has remained stable over the last 10 years, with a slight majority of female patients. We have seen a clear increase in LASIK for two specific age groups: patients under 30 years of age and those over 50. In terms of the ametropia treated, there is a progression in the percentage of hyperopes treated and this is partially linked to age,” he said. Addressing delegates attending the French Implant and Refractive Surgery Association (SAFIR) annual meeting in Paris, Dr Gauthier-Fournet, in private practice in Saint Jean de Luz, France, said that the study also found very little difference in the ratio of male-to-female patients before and after 45 years of age. “I would interpret this as a clear sign that what we are doing is not perceived as aesthetic surgery by the majority of the population but as a functional medical procedure,” he said. PRECISE AND OBJECTIVE The goal of the study, said Dr Gauthier-Fournet, was to try to shed some light on the profile of LASIK patients over a defined period of time. “We all recognise that this type of data is difficult to obtain. The industry partners in this field are very diverse and a lot of information is not shared. I wanted to get away from the vague impressions and anecdotal evidence in order to obtain something more precise and objective,” he said. Dr Gauthier-Fournet’s study included three populations of LASIK patients operated on over a 10-year period: 469 patients and 843 surgeries in 2005; 538 patients and 1,016 surgeries in 2010; and 517 patients and 966 surgeries in 2015. All 2,825 procedures were performed by the same surgeon and no cases of photorefractive keratectomy were included. “Bilateral surgery slightly increased over the study period. This is probably explained by the thinner flaps and higher precision lasers, which enable us to avoid the need for unilateral phakic implants combined with LASIK,” said Dr Gauthier-Fournet. The overall average patient age of 40 remained the same between 2005 and 2015, with patients under 30 constituting the largest treatment group (32%) in 2015 compared to 24% in 2005, noted Dr Gauthier-Fournet. For the type of ametropia corrected, the past decade has seen a drop in myopic patients, from 81% in 2005 to 64% in 2015, and a marked increase for hyperopia, from 19% in 2005 to 36% in 2015. Laurent Gauthier-Fournet: lgauthier@ophtaluz.com