Anterior chamber flare after photorefractive keratectomy.

Background: The inflammatory reaction produced after excimer photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) remains to be clarified. In this study, we measured flare in the anterior chamber after excimer PRK as an indirect sign of postoperative inflammation.

Methods: Flare was measured in 25 eyes with a laser flare meter (Kowa FM 500) before and after excimer laser PRK. The eyes were divided in two groups: 1-week and 1-month follow-up groups. All eyes received topical 0.1% dexamethasone drops postoperatively.

Results: The 95% confidence interval for the difference in flare between the operated and fellow eyes was 3.23 +/- 1.81 at day 5 and 2.20 +/- 2.02 at day 12 after surgery in the 1-month group and 6.50 +/- 2.51 at day 2 and 2.12 +/- 0.89 day 5 after the procedure in the 1-week group, thus showing a statistically significant elevation in flare after PRK (P < 0.05). A statistically significant correlation between the depth of the stromal ablation and the flare elevation 12 days after PRK in the 1-month group was shown.

Conclusions: There was significant increase in anterior chamber flare after PRK, although considerable individual variation occurred.