Trans-epithelial Photorefractive Keratectomy in the Treatment of Myopia, Hyperopia and Astigmatism; Five-year Results

We aimed to report the five-year results of Trans-epithelial Photorefractive Keratectomy (TPRK) in treating all kinds of refractive errors. In this retrospective cohort study, we quantitatively compared the clinical findings and assessment of optical and refractive parameters, including slit-lamp, corneal topography, Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA), and Uncorrected Distance Visual Acuity (UDVA) in 172 eyes of myopic, hyperopic, and astigmatic patients before and five years after trans-PRK. The average time for post-surgery epithelial healing was 2.97 0.83 days in male and 2.94 0.87 days in female patients; the pain score in a week following the operation was 1.88 0.68 in males and 2.25 0.73 in females. Corneal haze was observed in five patients. No long-term adverse effect was reported. The pre-operative UDVA was 0.84 0.32 in male and 0.87 0.34 in female patients; while the postoperative UDVA was -0.02 0.04 in male and -0.01 0.02 in female patients. There was a highly significant correlation (P<0.001) in all indices except UDVA, which was almost near to being significant (P=0.07). In this survey, the mean safety and index were nearly 1.00. TPRK is a safe and efficient therapeutic procedure to treat all types of refractive errors, including myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, with no significant adverse effect. Being touchless and having a short recovery time are two main characteristics of this refractive surgery.