Abstract

“Supervision” is the term that has been used to describe surgically produced vision better than that achieved with glasses or contact lenses. Previous studies by David Shapiro, M.D. have shown that advanced forms of wavefront LASIK can be used to achieve supervision in a high percentage of cases. This study assesses whether advanced formats of wavefront PRK also can be used to achieve the supervision results seen in the wavefront LASIK study. In this study, 50 patients underwent wavefront PRK surgery at the Shapiro Laser Eye Center (surgery by David Shapiro, M.D.) using the most advanced technologies and techniques. 96% of patients reported uncorrected vision after surgery better than glasses or contacts and 4% of patients reported uncorrected vision equal to their glasses or contacts. No patients ended up with vision worse than with their glasses or contacts. These results were identical to those seen in Dr. Shapiro’s previous study of advanced wavefront LASIK, suggesting the two techniques are equivalent in their outcomes in respect to supervision. These results change the way advanced wavefront laser vision correction – both wavefront LASIK and wavefront PRK — are viewed in comparison to other alternatives.

Publication

Shapiro DR: Achieving Patient-Assessed “Super-Vision” With Wavefront-Guided PRK. Paper presented at American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 28, 2011.