Little difference between LASIK and LASEK

CHICAGO, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A U.S. study compared LASIK and LASEK eye surgeries and found no clinically significant differences between the two types of laser eye treatments.

"Although there have been many studies of the safety and efficacy of both types of laser surgery, there has not been a large study directly comparing the outcomes of the two procedures," said study leader Dr. Dimitri Azar, head of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"Both procedures seem safe, effective and predictable for the treatment of low to moderate myopia -- near-sightedness."

In the study, 122 LASIK-treated eyes were matched for all measures with 122 LASEK-treated eyes from a review of the charts of 2,257 eye surgeries performed by Azar.

LASIK -- laser in situ keratomileusis -- has largely replaced the older photorefractive keratectomy procedure, better known as PRK. In LASEK -- laser epithelial keratomileusis -- the surface cornea layer is treated with alcohol and then peeled back to permit reshaping of the underlying layer. It avoids all flap-related complications associated with LASIK and has less postoperative pain and faster recovery than PRK.

The findings are published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.