Comparison of the posterior corneal elevation and biomechanics after SMILE and LASEK for myopia: a short- and long-term observation

Purpose This study compares the posterior corneal elevation and corneal biomechanics after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and laser-assisted subepithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) for myopia correction in a short- and long-term observation. Methods This prospective study included 32 patients in the SMILE group and 32 patients in the LASEK group. Corneal posterior central elevation (PCE), posterior mean elevation (PME), corneal back power (Kb), and anterior chamber depth (ACD) were evaluated with Pentacam, and intraocular pressure (IOP), corneal hysteresis (CH), and corneal resistance factor (CRF) were evaluated with the ORA at pre-operation and 3 months and 3 years post-operation. Results Three months post-operatively, CH, CRF, and IOP decreased significantly and central posterior surface shifted backward in both groups ( p