IIntroduction: This study aimed to evaluate postoperative changes in corneal topography and corneal aberration parameters following photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) as detected by the Advanced Corneal Explorer (ACE) and Pentacam.
Methods: In this prospective study, 42 eyes of 42 myopic patients undergoing PRK were examined preoperatively and 4 months postoperatively. Corneal aberration and corneal topography were assessed using two imaging systems based on different measurement principles: the Scheimpflug-based Pentacam (Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany) and the swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT)-based ACE (Technolas Perfect Vision GmbH, Munchen, Germany). Paired t-test was used to evaluate postoperative changes detected by each device.
Results: A statistically significant decrease was detected in the mean anterior keratometric values 4 months after PRK via Pentacam and ACE (P<0.05). The mean posterior keratometry significantly increased after surgery using ACE (P<0.001) but no changes were noticed with Pentacam (P>0.20). Four months after PRK, ACE showed a significant change in defocus, horizontal astigmatism as well as in the root mean square (RMS) of higher-order aberrations (all P<0.05). Pentacam showed significant postoperative changes in spherical aberration, vertical tilt, horizontal astigmatism, low order aberration (LOA), HOAs, and fourth-order RMS (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Based on the results, both ACE and Pentacam independently detected significant anterior corneal flattening and an increase in certain corneal aberrations following myopic PRK.