Alcohol and mechanical scraping for epithelial ingrowth following laser in situ keratomileusis.

PURPOSE: To determine whether the use of 70% isopropyl alcohol is useful as an adjunct to simple mechanical removal of epithelial ingrowth following laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK).

METHODS

A retrospective comparison of two techniques of epithelial ingrowth removal following LASIK was performed. A total of 38 procedures on 31 patients were included. In one group, the epithelium was removed using a simple mechanical scraping technique and in the other, a similar technique combined with the application of 70% isopropyl alcohol was used. The rates of recurrence in the two groups were compared using a chi-square analysis.

RESULTS

The total incidence of epithelial ingrowth recurrence in both groups was 57.9% (22/38). The incidence of clinically significant ingrowth recurrence in both groups was 34.2% (13/38). In the scrape group, the recurrence of any ingrowth was 43.8% (7/16) and the recurrence of clinically significant ingrowth was 31.3% (5/16). In the alcohol group, these rates were 68.2% (15/22) and 36.4% (8/22), respectively. The difference between the two groups did not show statistical significance in either comparison (P=.14 and P=.75, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of 70% isopropyl alcohol showed no additional benefit over simple mechanical scraping in the removal and prevention of epithelial ingrowth recurrence following LASIK.