Purpose: To study the effect of phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) in the treatment of various superficial corneal pathologies.

Methods: We performed a nonrandomized, prospective study on patients who presented with superficial corneal disease and/or poor vision. Fifty eyes were included; recurrent corneal erosion (RCE): 25 eyes, Salzmann’s nodular degeneration: 9 eyes, spheroidal degeneration: 4 eyes, trachoma keratitis scar: 5 eyes, traumatic scar and pseudophakic bullous keratopathy: each one 2 eyes, macular dystrophy, herpetic corneal scar, and band keratopathy each of them 1 eye. All patients were treated with Nidek EC-5000 excimer laser. A central 4- 8 mm ablation zone was determined by opacity diameter. Follow up ranged from 90 days to 20 months; mean 304±165 days for RCE group and 395±197 days for others.

Results: Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) improved from mean of ²⁰/₅₀ (logMAR=0.44) and ²⁰/₄₀₀ (logMAR=1.1) preoperatively to ²⁰/₃₀ (logMAR=0.2) and ²⁰/₁₂₀ (logMAR=0.78) postoperatively in RCE and opacity groups respectively. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved from mean of ²⁰/₃₀ (LogMAR=0.22) and ²⁰/₂₀₀ (logMAR=0.96) preoperatively to ²⁰/₂₅ (logMAR=0.07) and ²⁰/₁₀₀ (logMAR=0.65) postoperatively in RCE and opacity groups respectively. Recurrent erosion dramatically reduces in RCE group.

Conclusion: PTK can improve UCVA and BCVA in various superficial corneal pathologies and reduce spontaneous corneal erosions but proper case selection is crucial.