Usefulness of bandage contact lenses in the immediate postoperative period after uneventful myopic LASIK

Purpose: To determine the usefulness of a silicone-hydrogel bandage contact lens (BCL) in the immediate postoperative period after uneventful myopic laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK). Methods: The study design was randomized but not masked and data collection was prospective. This study comprised 51 consecutive myopic eyes intervened by means of the LASIK technique to compensate their refractive error. Patients were randomly assigned to two different groups. The experimental group included 24 eyes of 12 patients that were fitted with a BCL immediately after the flap replacement. The control group included 27 eyes of 14 patients with no BCL. Patients were examined 24 h after the surgery; the experimental group was analyzed immediately after the extraction of the BCL. Postoperative uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) and postoperative topographic indexes were compared to baseline in both groups. Results: The experimental group achieved worse results in the majority of the studied variables. Postoperative UDVA was worse in experimental group (p < 0.01). Likewise, corneal asphericity (Q) was significantly higher in experimental group (p = 0.024). Topographic indexes showed higher asymmetry in the corneal maps pertaining to experimental group. Specifically, the index of surface variance (ISV) (p = 0.017) and index of vertical asymmetry (IVA) (p = 0.031) were higher in experimental group. Also, the postoperative central corneal thickness (CCT) resulted in higher values for eyes pertaining to experimental group. Conclusions: The fitting of a silicone-hydrogel BCL after uneventful LASIK provokes morphological changes in the ocular structures that may lead to a worse UDVA secondary to a higher postoperative CCT and corneal edema