Structural Changes Induced by a Corneal Shape-Changing Inlay, Deduced From Optical Coherence Tomography and Wavefront Measurements

Altered corneal shape alters corneal epithelial healing

A study involving patients implanted with a corneal inlay confirms the hypothesis that the epithelial changes that occur postoperatively are greatest in regions of greater local surface curvature. The study’s authors analysed the wavefront aberrometry and Fourier domain optical coherence tomograpy findings in 30 emmetropic presbyopic patients enrolled in a prospective clinical investigation of the inlay. They found the epithelium anterior to the inlay thinned by a mean of 18.4 μm. Peripheral to the inlay's diameter (2 mm), circumferential epithelial thickening extended the change to the anterior corneal surface to approximately twice the inlay diameter.