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¹The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion Institute, Israil, Uzm. Dr.
²İzmir Atatürk Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Göz Kliniği, İzmir, Uzm. Dr.
³İzmir Atatürk Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Göz Kliniği, İzmir, Prof. Dr. Purpose: To measure intraocular pressure with TonoPen from peripheral and central cornea of the patients who underwent Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) for their myopia and to compare the results with central corneal thickness to find the most appropriate intraocular pressure measurement technique.
Materials and Methods: 140 eyes from 82 patients that underwent LASIK procedure between July 1999 and January 2000 were included. Intraocular pressure measurements with TonoPen were recorded from both peripheral (TonP) and central (TonC) cornea. Ultrasonic pachymeter and keratometer were used for corneal thickness and refractive measurements. Collected data before and after the procedures were recorded and compared.
Results: There were 48 (58.5%) female and 34 (41.5%) male patients aged 20 to 51 years (mean 30.85±7.79). LASIK procedure decreased intraocular pressure levels for both peripheral and central corneal measurements. Pressure levels were as follows: Preoperative 13.34±1.49 mmHg and postoperative 11.98±1.59 mmHg with TonC (p<0.0001) and preoperative 13.52±1.48 and postoperative 13.37±1.58 mmHg with TonP (p<0.01). Intraocular pressure measurements with TonC were significantly lower, however, TonP measurements revealed only small decrements. Additionally, we found a correlation between the decreased intraocular pressures levels and central corneal thickness and keratometric values (r>0.434, p<0.0001 respectively). The most significant correlation was found to be between TonP measurements and corneal thickness and keratometric values (r>0.74, p<0.0001 respectively).
Discussion: LASIK procedure significantly decreased intraocular pressure levels measured with both TonC and TonP, however, decrease observed with TonP was much smaller than TonC. According to the results of this study, we recommend measurement of peripheral corneal pressure with Tono-Pen for the patients that received LASIK procedure to provide appropriate follow-up for the patients with glaucoma. Keywords : LASIK, intraocular pressure, TonoPen, pachymeter, keratometry