Objective: To investigate the repair of corneal subepithelial nerve fibers in the early and middle stages
after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE), femtosecond flap excimer laser in situ keratomileusis
(FS-LASIK) or laser epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) in patients with high myopia. Methods: This
was a prospective clinical study. Fifty-five patients (110 eyes) with high myopia who were treated in the
Department of Ophthalmology at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were divided into a SMILE
group (44 eyes), FS-LASIK group (36 eyes) and LASEK group (30 eyes). The repair of corneal nerve
fibers was observed by laser confocal microscopy at 1, 3 and 6 months after the operations. Parameters
of nerve fibers at different time periuds after the operations was used one-way ANOVA of random block
design. Results: The corneal nerve distribution density, branch density, and length and width of different
areas in patients with high myopia were best in the early stage after SMILE compared with the other two
groups. The repair speed was also the fastest and reached the preoperative level earlier. Comparisons of
corneal nerve repair in different areas, including the corneal flap, showed that the repair rate for FS-LASIK
was between SMILE and LASEK. In the early stage after LASEK, especially in the central area, the
white scar turbidity was obvious, and the speed and quality of corneal repair in different areas were the
worst. The results of image analysis at the different time periods in each group suggested that the levels of
corneal nerve fiber density (CNFD), corneal nerve fiber length (CNFL) and corneal nerve fiber total branch
density (CTBD) in the center of the SMILE and FS-LASIK groups were significantly better than those
in the LASEK group at 1 month after the operation (all P<0.05). The CNBD of SMILE was significantly
better than that of both the FS-LASIK and LASEK groups (HSD=4.367, P=0.007; HSD=4.237, P=0.008).
Three months after the operation, the CNFD, CNBD, CNFL in the center of the SMILE operation were
significantly better than for both the FS-LASIK and LASEK groups (all P<0.05). The CNFW of the
LASEK operation was significantly better than that of both the SMILE and FS-LASIK groups (HSD=3.457,
P=0.003; HSD=3.668, P=0.004). Six months after the operation, the central CNFD, CNBD and CNFL
of the SMILE operation were better than those of both the FS-LASIK and LASEK groups, and the
difference was statistically significant (all P<0.05). Conclusions: In the early and middle stages after laser
keratomileusis, SMILE is significantly superior to FS-LASIK and LASEK for nerve repair in all regions.
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