Induced astigmatism after photorefractive keratectomy.

PURPOSE: To retrospectively analyze a group of patients to determine whether their induced astigmatism was caused by asymmetry in the laser beam, asymmetry in ablation rates, or wound healing in different corneal meridians.

SETTING: Single-center physician office.

METHODS: In this study, 146 eyes of 116 patients who had photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for myopia with the Apex laser (Summit Technology) were retrospectively identified. In 28 eyes, the patient's chair had been rotated 90 degrees from its usual position under the laser. The vector-summated mean change in astigmatism in eyes with the chair rotated 90 degrees was compared with that in a group of control eyes in which the chair was in the usual position.

RESULTS: The vector-summated mean change in the control eyes was 0.30 diopter (D) at 83 degrees. Forty-eight of 113 eyes (42.5%) had induced with-the-rule (WTR) astigmatism, and 14 of 113 eyes (12.4%) had induced against-the-rule (ATR) astigmatism. In the eyes in which the chair was rotated 90 degrees, vector-summated mean change was 0.10 D at 13 degrees (P < .0005). One of 27 eyes (3.7%) had induced WTR astigmatism, and 13 of 27 eyes (48.1%) had induced ATR astigmatism (P < .001, chi-square).

CONCLUSION: Astigmatism induced by myopic PRK with the Apex laser was small. The axis of induced astigmatism rotated 90 degrees when the patient's chair was rotated, implying that it is inhomogeneities in the beam rather than meridional asymmetry in ablation rates or wound healing that are responsible for induced astigmatism.