Safety and Effectiveness of Smooth Incision Lenticular Keratomileusis (SILK™) Using the ELITA™ Femtosecond Laser System for Correction of Myopic and Astigmatic Refractive Errors [Response to Letter].

This document is a response to a letter from Dr. Alpins regarding a publication on the safety and effectiveness of the Smooth Incision Lenticular Keratomileusis (SILK™) procedure for correcting refractive errors. The authors of the publication disagree with Dr. Alpins' comments on their method and terminology for astigmatism analysis. They explain that they followed the recommended method and terminology from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and that their references were appropriate for comparing treatment results, not data analysis methods. The authors also disclose their affiliations and conflicts of interest. [Extracted from the article]