AAO 2006 - Marguerite McDonald MD

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Presentation: Why I Hung Up My Microkeratome (i.e. stopped doing LASIK)

Hilights: Dr. McDonald made several points in favor of epi-LASIK over traditional LASIK. Epi-LASIK is a surface ablation procedure, which means that no flap is made.

The reasons Dr. McDonald gave for switching to epi-LASIK include:

1. Superior clinical outcomes -- she stated that the best LASIK outcomes are not as good as or superior to the best surface ablation outcomes when standard outcome measurements such as visual acuity are considered.

2. She also showed results that demonstrated that there are fewer deleterious effects on higher order aberrations.

3. She reiterated the safety advantages of no flap surgery -- no flap complications are possible if no flap is made.

4. She also mentioned that while surface ablation is great for all surgeons, it is perhaps particularly fitting for low-volume surgeons. She cited a MarketScope study that said that 40% of United States surgeons perform fewer than 16.6 cases per month. Again, here, she is referring to the lack of a flap complications when no flap is made.