Sensations of Chinese Ametropia Patients under Laser-Assisted Keratomileusis Surgical Techniques

Purpose: To investigate the sensations experienced by Chinese patients during refractive surgery including the laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), Epi-Lasik, and Sub-Bowman keratomileusis (SBK) techniques. A prospective, randomized, and self-matched clinical study was conducted. Methods: The participants included 44 men and 58 women aged 16 to 47 years old (mean 24.3±0.6 years) who underwent bilateral refractive surgery. Data were collected by using a standardized questionnaire regarding intraoperative experiences including light perception, perception of the green fixation light, pain, fear, and so on. Results: A higher proportion of patients experienced temporary loss of light perception in the LASIK group compared with the Epi-Lasik and SBK groups (97% vs. 92% vs. 73%; χ2 =0.0072, p<0.05). Moreover, 71 patients were frightened by their intraoperative experiences [20 Epi-Lasik patients (71%); 23 LASIK patients (68%); 28 SBK patients (70%)]. These patients were mostly younger, aged ≤ 20 years (χ2 =0.0182, p<0.05). Moreover, the younger age group was significantly associated with the higher level of fear (χ2 =0.0011, p<0.05). Patients included in the group who felt pain with a mean duration of surgery ranging from five to 10 minutes (8.471±1.566) were significantly less in number compared with those who did not feel pain (7.100±1.820) (χ2 =0.0154, p<0.05). Patients also saw colors and movement, but the differences were not significant among the techniques. Patients experienced various visual sensations. Conclusion: Younger age and relatively longer surgical durations were found to be the risk factors for the visual sensations of fear and pain during surgery. Preoperative counseling is an important factor in preparing patients for such visual experiences.