Wen-Shin Lee, Carson K Lam, Edward E Manche

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy of phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) in treating epithelial basement membrane dystrophy (EBMD). Preoperative and postoperative records were reviewed for 58 eyes of 51 patients with >3 months follow-up (range 3-170 months) treated for EBMD with PTK after failure of conservative medical treatment at Byers Eye Institute of Stanford University. Symptoms, clinical findings, and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) were assessed. The primary outcome measure was symptomatic recurrence as measured by erosions or visual complaints >3 months after successful PTK. For eyes with visual disturbances (n=30), preoperative CDVA waŝ20/32 (0.24 Log-MAR, SD 0.21) and postoperative CDVA was ~20/25 (0.07 LogMAR, SD 0.12; P<0.0001). Twenty-six eyes (86.7%) responded to treatment, with symptomatic recurrence in 6 eyes (23.1%) at an average of 37.7 months (SD 42.8). For eyes with painful erosions (n=29), preoperative CDVA was ~20/25 (0.12, SD 0.19) and postoperative CDVA was ~20/20 (0.05. SD 0.16; P=0.0785). Twenty-three eyes (79.3%) responded to treatment, with symptomatic recurrence in 3 eyes (13.0%) at an average of 9.7 months (SD 1.5). The probability of being recurrence free after a successful treatment for visual disturbances and erosions at 5 years postoperatively was estimated at 83.0% (95% confidence interval 68.7%-97.0%) and 88.0% (95% confidence interval 65.3%-96.6%), respectively. The majority of visual disturbances and painful erosions associated with EBMD respond to PTK. For those with a treatment response, symptomatic relief is maintained over long-term follow-up.