[Combination of photorefractive and phototherapeutic keratectomy in the treatment of keratoconus].

Twenty patients (28 eyes) with primary keratoconus of stages I-II (Amsler) were operated using photorefraction keratectomy (PRK) supplemented by phototherapeutic keratectomy (PRK). Mean UCVA before surgery was 0.04 +/- 0.004, BCVA 0.68 +/- 0.03. Eximer laser EC-5000(NIDEK) was used in the treatment. PRK included spherical, cylindrical ablations, or both. The diameter of ablation zone in PRK was 6 mm. in PTK the diameter of ablation zone was 8 mm, transition zone 9 mm. In PTK the ablation zone was decentered towards the cone apex (according to corneal computer topography). The method is patented in the Russian Federation. Visual acuity without correction notably improved in all 20 patients and its mean value after the operation was 0.73 +/- 0.03, 68% eye having visual acuity of 1.0. In one female patient keratoconus progressed 6 months after the operation. Haze was observed in 1 patient as a result of delayed reepithelialization. No progress of keratoconus was observed in other patients (period of observation 17.3 +/- 1.5 months). Hence, the new PRK-PTK method is an effective method for treating primary keratoconus of the first-second stage according to Amsler; the method arrests the progress of the condition in 96% cases.