Amniotic membrane corrects surgically induced astigmatism.

Human amniotic membrane (AM) has been widely used for the reconstruction of ocular surface. We conducted this study to investigate whether AM shows efficacy in maintaining the correction of astigmatism or not. We performed photoastigmatic refractive keratectomy (PARK) on rabbits and grafted AM on the cornea. The effect of AM on the degree of astigmatism was evaluated by topography and cycloplegic refraction. As will be shown, AM did not show any efficacy in maintaining the correction of astigmatism. On the contrary, AM not only eliminated PARK-induced astigmatism but prevented surgically induced astigmatism. We suggest that AM could be a useful tool for controlling the astigmatism induced by laser refractive surgery. Further clinical study is still left to be elucidated.