Microkeratomes go head-to-head with the femtosecond

The M2 microkeratome (Moria), the Carriazo-Pendular microkeratome (Schwind) and the IntraLase femtosecond laser all create flaps of predictable thickness, according to a report published in the January issue of the Journal of Refractive Surgery.

Jorge Alió from Vissum/Instituto Oftalmológico de Alicante and David Piñero from Universidad Miguel Hernández, Alicante, Spain evaluated the corneal aberrometric outcomes and corneal flap thickness profiles following LASIK using three different devices for lamellar keratotomy. A total of 66 myopic eyes (33 patients) were enrolled and were randomly assigned to either of the two microkeratomes or the femtosecond laser. Intended flap thickness was 110 µm in all cases.

Mean central flap thickness was 117.50±7.80, 118.08±8.4 and 115.95±6.22 µm for the M2, Carriazo-Pendular and IntraLase systems, respectively. No significant differences were found among the groups. Nasal thickness was significantly larger for the M2 flaps compared with IntraLase (p<0.05) and Carriazo-Pendular flaps (p=0.046, only at 3 mm position). Temporal thicknesses were larger for the M2 flaps, although only differences between M2 and Carriazo-Pendular flaps reached statistical significance. Larger superior and inferior thicknesses were also observed for the M2 flaps, although no statistically significant differences were found. With regards to corneal aberrometry, no statistically significant differences were observed in coma-like (p=0.138) and spherical-like RMS (p=0.300).

Each of the three systems created predictable flap thicknesses and, furthermore, the Carriazo-Pendular and IntraLase devices created flaps with a planar profile.