The patient reported that his symptoms of dry eye challenged his thoughts

SAN DIEGO – According to one speaker, many conceptions of dry eye and LASIK can be disputed.

For example, dry eye before surgery does not necessarily mean dry eye after surgery, " Julie M. Schallihorn, MD, MRS, told colleagues at Refractive Sub-Specialist Day at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

"There is a dogma badociated with [LASIK] – things we have learned and believe – that when you start looking at the data, do not resist an inspection, "she said.

Schallhorn and colleagues undertook a population-based study of all patients who underwent refractive surgery for a period of two years and completed a confidential questionnaire preoperatively and three months postoperatively.

Dry eye symptoms were reported by 41.5% of patients before surgery. Women were 23 times more likely than men to report preoperative dry eye, and contact lens wearers were 45 times more likely to develop symptoms than non-contact lens users.

"Patients who reported more severe severe dry eye before surgery tended to report less severe dry eye after surgery," said Schallhorn. "It was a linear correlation between all levels of dry eye. From patients with mild dry eye to severe dry eye patients, they tended to get better after surgery. "

According to Schallhorn, if women's eye dryness is worse after LASIK, bad plays a very small clinical role, with women reporting symptoms 1.7% higher than men.

Schallhorn said that in the short term, more patients on PRK than patients under LASIK reported symptoms. A total of 1,841 patients underwent PRK and 11,487 underwent LASIK with no difference between the percentages of patients with dry eye symptoms prior to surgery. At 3 months, 4% more patients on PRK reported dry eye symptoms than LASIK patients. – by Patricia Nale, ELS

Reference: Schallhorn J. Challenge conventional wisdom about LASIK. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract Surgery and Refractive Surgery; May 3 to 7, 2019; San Diego. Disclosure: Schallhorn says she's a consultant for Zeiss, Johnson & Johnson and Avedro.