A prospective randomized self-controlled study of LASIK combined with accelerated cross-linking for high myopia in Chinese: 24-month follow-up

BACKGROUND: To assess the visual and refractive outcomes of femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) concurrent with accelerated cross-linking (LASIK Xtra) compared with conventional FS-LASIK (convLASIK) for high myopia in Chinese individuals. METHODS: In this prospective, randomized, fellow-eye comparison study, 25 patients with high myopia were treated randomly with LASIK Xtra in one eye and convLASIK in the other. A 24-month follow-up was conducted, and the main outcome measures included uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), manifest refraction spherical equivalent (MRSE) and corneal tomography. RESULTS: The UDVA was 0.09 ± 0.15 logMAR in the LASIK Xtra group, which was significantly worse than that in the convLASIK group 1 day postoperatively (P = .001), but the difference became nonsignificant from 1 week after surgery. The efficacy index was 0.88 ± 0.18 in the LASIK Xtra eyes and 0.99 ± 0.13 in the convLASIK eyes at 24 months (P = .028). Throughout the follow-up period, a slight myopic shift in the MRSE and keratometry values were observed in both groups without significant intergroup differences. The coefficient of determination was 0.9982 in the LASIK Xtra eyes and 0.9987 in the convLASIK eyes. The corneal density was significantly higher, and demarcation lines were visible in the first 6 months in LASIK Xtra eyes, but both signs of cross-linking gradually disappeared during follow-up. No severe complications were detected in either group. CONCLUSIONS: LASIK Xtra showed comparable safety and predictability with convLASIK for high myopia in Chinese, but lower efficacy and no greater stability was observed up to 24-month follow-up.