Xinfang Cao,1,2 Jun Zhang,2 Wei Han1 

1Eye Centre, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Hangzhou MSK Eye Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Wei Han, Eye Centre, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 1 Westlake Avenue, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13777451900, Email hanweidr@zju.edu.cn

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the effect of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery on corneal astigmatism in post-LASIK eyes and virgin eyes.
Patients and Methods: Patients who underwent femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery were included in the study and categorized into two groups: Group A, consisting of patients with post-LASIK eyes, and Group B, consisting of patients with virgin eyes. Visual acuity, corneal astigmatism, and surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) were evaluated. Additionally, the correlation between SIA and preoperative corneal astigmatism, mean corneal curvature, and central corneal thickness was also analyzed.
Results: A total of 168 eyes were enrolled in this study, with 62 eyes in Group A and 106 eyes in Group B. Significant differences in corneal astigmatism and SIA were observed between the two groups in the early postoperative period following cataract surgery (P< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference at 6 months postoperatively (P> 0.05). Corneal astigmatism demonstrated an against-The-rule shift in both groups postoperatively. No significant correlation was identified between SIA and preoperative corneal astigmatism, corneal curvature or corneal thickness. Additionally, there was no significant difference observed between the two groups in terms of uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) at 6 months postoperatively.
Conclusion: The effect of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery on corneal astigmatism in post-LASIK eyes and virgin eyes was different in the early postoperative period. However, there was no significant difference at 6 months postoperatively. The post-LASIK eyes exhibited a delayed recovery compared to the virgin eyes.

Keywords: LASIK, femtosecond laser-assisted, cataract surgery, corneal astigmatism, surgically induced astigmatism