Purpose: To compare the effectiveness, safety, and stability of the results of transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (tPRK) with conventional photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for low to moderate myopia.
Methods: In this prospective non‑randomized case‑control study, patients with low to moderate myopia were assigned to the tPRK group (cases) and the PRK group (controls). Outcome measures included postoperative pain using McGill Pain Questionnaire, epithelial healing time, uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and manifest refraction.
Results: A total of 340 eyes of 170 patients were enrolled in this study. Each study group comprised of 170 eyes of 85 patients. There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding the postoperative pain scores in favor of the tPRK group (P = 0.04). The tPRK group had a shorter epithelial healing time than the conventional PRK group postoperatively (P = 0.01). Mean UCVA was significantly better in the case group than in the control group at the postoperative month 2 (P = 0.01).
Conclusion: Transepithelial PRK seems to be superior to conventional PRK for treatment of low to moderate myopia in terms of postoperative pain, epithelial healing time, and visual recovery.