エキシマレーザー屈折矯正手術におけるアルコールによる角膜上皮剥離

Ethanol-assisted removal of corneal epithelium prior to excimer laser photorefractive keratotomy

（19-B-3）　エキシマレーザー屈折矯正手術前の角膜上皮剥離で，エタノールを用いると平滑な剥離面が得られ，術後早期に視力が回復することが期待される。9人の両眼に同じ日に手術を行い，1眼は25％エタノール，他眼にはレーザーとスパーテルによる上皮剥離を行った。両群の間に，上皮剥離時間，術後1か月での視力，屈折，上皮下混濁について有意差はなかった。エタノール使用眼では術後の疼痛が強い傾向があつた。

Removal of the corneal epithelium by diluted ethanol has been reported to be beneficial in excimer laser photorefractive keratotomy (PRK) as this procedure would induce smooth stromal surface and early improvement in visual acuity. We performed PRK on both eyes of 9 patients on the same day. One eye received epithelial removal by 25% ethanol and the fellow eye by laser and spatula. There was no difference between both groups regarding duration of epithelial removal procedure, visual acuity one month after surgery, refraction or subepithelial opacity. There was a tendency of more postoperative pain in eyes treated by ethanol.