Timolol Maleate Effective in Treating Myopic Regression Post LASIK, finds Study
A recent study conducted by researchers from Dr Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi has concluded that Timolol Maleate (0.5%) may be an effective modality for treatment of myopic refractive regression post LASIK, thereby circumventing the need for re-laser treatment.
The study has been published in the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.
Laser assisted in-situ- Keratomileusis (LASIK), the most commonly performed surgery for refractive correction provides good refractive correction over a wide range of refractive errors with predictable outcomes. This is largely attributable to improvisations in ablation parameters, nomograms and sophisticated centration and eye tracking systems. But still, about 20-30 % patients experience regression or gradual loss of the refractive correction over time. Various factors such as high pre-operative spherical equivalent, thinner corneas, raised postoperative intraocular pressure, under-correction and older age of the patient have been reported to increase the risk of myopic regression. While re-surgery is an option, the authors wanted to explore other non-surgical therapeutic modalities for the same.
As intraocular pressure is a modifiable factor, it has been suggested that topical IOP lowering agents suggest as timolol maleate, a non-selective β blocker, can improve myopic regression after LASIK. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Timolol Maleate (0.5%) in the treatment of myopic regression post LASIK.
In this prospective interventional study, patients who presented with regression after undergoing uneventful myopic LASIK by a single surgeon were included . Regression was defined as uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) of 20/20 at final follow-up post LASIK, but UDVA loss of two lines, correctable with residual refraction 3 months or more post-operatively. Only those patients who had finished their post-operative course of topical steroids were included in the study. Patients with history of corneal ectasia, keratoconus, glaucoma, cataract, refractive surgery re-treatment, previous ocular surgery other than LASIK, posterior segment disorders, pregnancy or breastfeeding were excluded.
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