Centration on the cornea vertex normal during hyperopic refractive photoablation using videokeratoscopy

PURPOSE: To evaluate a method for centering the ablation in standard hyperopic LASIK using an excimer laser with a video-based eye tracker system. METHODS: Results of 52 consecutive hyperopic eyes treated with the ESIRIS excimer laser were retrospectively reviewed. Ablation was shifted from the pupil center to the vertex normal of the cornea using pupillary offset measured with the Keratron Scout videokeratoscope. Outcomes were assessed 3 months postoperatively. RESULTS: All eyes preoperatively had a nasally oriented vertex normal in relation to the pupil center. Three months postoperatively a refractive outcome of < 0.50 diopters of spherical equivalent was achieved in 94% (49/52) of eyes. No eye lost more than one line of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity. CONCLUSIONS: Standard hyperopic LASIK with the ESIRIS laser system leads to good predictable efficacy and safety results when the ablation center is shifted to the cornea vertex normal based on videokeratoscopy data.