Clinical Outcome and Recurrence of Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy after Phototherapeutic Keratectomy

Objective To evaluate the outcome of phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) treatment of epithelial basement membrane dystrophy (EBMD) patients and to examine clinical and morphologic signs of recurrent dystrophy. Design Cross-sectional, clinic-based study. Participants Fifty-two eyes of 39 patients diagnosed with EBMD who underwent PTK between 2001 and 2008. Methods Preoperative symptoms, best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), and refraction data were collected. At follow-up, refraction and BSCVA were measured, symptoms were noted, and slit-lamp biomicroscopy and in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) were performed. Main Outcome Measures Best spectacle-corrected visual acuity and signs of recurrent EBMD based on symptoms and morphologic features. An assessment of EBMD severity after PTK additionally was considered. Results Mean follow-up time was 43 months (range, 7–100 months). After PTK, BSCVA remained unchanged or improved in 49 (98%) of 51 eyes. Twenty-four (46%) of 52 eyes had recurrence of some form, and recurrence was correlated positively with postoperative time ( P Conclusions Although PTK is an effective method of alleviating the clinical symptoms of EBMD, the dystrophy can recur with time. The relationship between the postoperative development of clinical symptoms and the corneal morphologic features is complex and requires further investigation. Financial Disclosure(s) The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.