Evaluation of the Effect of Myopic Femtosecond Laser Assisted-LASIK on Anterior Chamber Flare Values and Corneal Endothelial Cells: A Prospective Before-and-After Study

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether femtosecond laser-assisted LASIK (FS-LASIK) surgery causes inflammation in the anterior chamber and to analyze its effect on endothelial cells. Methods: This prospective, longitudinal study included 60 eyes of 30 patients (19 females) who had undergone FS-LASIK surgery due to myopia and myopic astigmatism. Endothelial cell density (ECD) and morphological measurements were performed using a specular microscopy, and laser flare photometry was used to measure the anterior chamber flare values on the day of surgery. iFS™ Advanced FS and VISX STAR S4-IR Wavescan Excimer Laser platforms were used. Flare measurements were repeated on the postoperative 1st day and 7th day and the 1st and 3rd months. The endothelial measurements were repeated in the 3rd month. Results: Preoperatively, the mean flare was 5.34 ± 1.13 photons/ms; it was 6.02 ± 2.0 on the postoperative 1st day, 5.78 ± 1.98 on the 7th day, 5.77 ± 3.16 in the 1st month, and 5.45 ± 1.13 in the 3rd month. A significant difference was observed between the preoperative values and the postoperative 1st day values (p = 0.010). The decrease in the ECD was statistically significant, with an average of 120.3 ± 260 cell-count/mm 2 (p = 0.001) and a minimal change in the coefficient of variation (p = 0.043). A significant correlation was found between the increase in the flare value on the postoperative 1st day and the preoperative flare value (r = -0.281, p = 0.015). A significant correlation was found between the decrease in ECD and the preoperative ECD (r = 0.434, p < 0.001) Conclusion: FS-LASIK only causes minimal inflammation in the anterior chamber on the 1st preoperative day; additionally, a statistically significant decrease of 4.2% and minimal morphological changes were noted in the endothelial cells.