Impact of femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis on retinal ganglion cell function.

Purpose: To analyse the effect of femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) on the electrical response of retinal ganglion cells using pattern electroretinography (pERG).
Methods: This was a longitudinal, prospective, observational pilot study. We included consecutive myopic patients who underwent FS-LASIK to correct up to 6 dioptres of myopia and up to 2 dioptres of astigmatism. Patients with excessive blinking or tearing and those with Snellen uncorrected visual acuity less than 0.9 dec on postop day 1 were excluded. Diopsys NOVA ^® (Diopsys Inc., NJ) pERG records, using high- and low-contrast patterns, were obtained 16 h and 1 month after FS-LASIK was performed. Magnitude (μV), Magnitude D (μV), Magnitude D/Magnitude ratio and signal-to-noise ratio (dB) were analysed. Wilcoxon test for nonparametric paired data was employed.
Results: pERG data from 24 eyes were analysed from 24 patients who underwent FS-LASIK. Mean age was 35.79 ± 9.86 years. Mean preoperative refraction was -2.69 ± 7.6 D (spherical) and -0.38 ± 0.40 D (cylinder). Mean surgical time was 56.88 ± 7.6 s. No statistically significant differences were obtained for any of the studied parameters when comparing 16 h with 1 month after FS-LASIK, with the exception of Magnitude with low contrast, which increased from 1.21 ± 0.2 to 1.39 ± 0.29 µV at 16 h and 1 month postoperatively, respectively ( p  = 0.03).
Conclusions: FS-LASIK seems to induce a mild and transitory defect in retinal ganglion cell function. Only a mild decrease was detected in the magnitude value for low-contrast stimuli when pERG was performed 16 h postoperatively, and it returned to normal 1 month after surgery.