Visual outcomes and recurrence rate of macular corneal dystrophy following phototherapeutic keratectomy in Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the visual outcomes and recurrence rate of patients with macular corneal dystrophy (MCD) who have undergone phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK).

METHODS

This retrospective, single-centered study enrolled patients from King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital who had undergone PTK for MCD between 2000 and 2020. Pre-, intra-, and post-operative data were collected, and the primary outcome measures included uncorrected visual acuity, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), spherical equivalent, central keratometry, keratometric astigmatism, recurrence rate, and necessity of subsequent surgery.

RESULTS

This study evaluated 42 eyes of 29 patients. BCVA improved from 0.41 (±0.17) preoperatively to 0.30 (±0.16) postoperatively. Sixteen out of 42 eyes (38%) had the recurrence of macular dystrophy deposits within the stroma; the average time from PTK to recurrence was 37 months (range: 5.5-115.4 months). The overall success rate of PTK at 2 years was 44.8%. Eleven eyes (26%) required subsequent surgery following PTK at an average of 43 months postoperatively. Deeper ablation and longer application of mitomycin C (MMC) were both found to be statistically significant factors associated with visual improvement and lower recurrence rate following PTK.

CONCLUSION

PTK can be considered a treatment modality for younger patients to defer keratoplasty to a later stage. Deeper ablation is associated with improved postoperative visual acuity, and longer application of MMC is associated with lower recurrence rates of MCD.