Quantification of corneal opacity after refractive corneal surgery using the anterior segment analyzer

PURPOSE: We quantified normal clear and postoperative hazed corneas using the Scheimpflug image of Pentacam, an anterior segment analysis system by Oculus. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We measured 77 eyes with normal clear corneas, and analyzed 48 eyes in 2 groups before and 1, 4, and 12 weeks after undergoing LASIK (24 eyes) or Epi-LASIK (24 eyes). RESULT: Clear corneas averaged a level of 30.9 +/- 2.4(mean +/- standard deviation) and showed no correlation with gender or age. At 1 week after Epi-LASIK and LASIK, the 2 surgery groups averaged a level of 41.0 +/- 8.1 and 31.9+/- 2.5 respectively. Epi-LASIK demonstrated a statistically significantly higher level than LASIK (Student's t-test, p < 0.01), whereas no difference was observed between the 2 groups at 4 and 12 weeks after surgery. CONCLUSION: Pentacam is useful in quantifying corneal haze following excimer laser keratectomy.