A serious examine of laser correction for short-sightedness exhibits that the process is as secure and efficient in older youngsters as it’s in adults, in response to analysis offered on the forty third Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS).
Brief-sightedness, or myopia, impacts round a 3rd of youngsters and youngsters and analysis means that it’s changing into extra widespread.
A laser remedy, referred to as photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), is broadly used to deal with myopia in adults however questions stay over its use in youngsters.
The brand new examine was offered by Dr. Avinoam Shye, from the Division of Ophthalmology at Rambam Well being Care Campus in Haifa, Israel.
He mentioned, “Some medical doctors fear that the eyes of youngsters should still be altering or that their eyes may reply in another way to therapeutic after laser remedy, growing the danger of unwanted effects. Nonetheless, in sure conditions, youngsters do need everlasting options to their myopia.
“We observed that regardless of these considerations, many youngsters aged 17 or 18 have been getting wonderful outcomes. That led us to review whether or not PRK is actually a secure and efficient possibility for this age group.”
The examine included a bunch of sufferers with myopia who have been handled with PRK at Care-Imaginative and prescient Laser Facilities, Tel Aviv, Israel, between January 2010 and June 2024, with 65,211 eyes handled in whole.
PRK entails utilizing a laser to take away tissue from the cornea, the clear, dome-shaped layer that covers the pupil and iris. The cornea acts as a window for mild to enter the attention, so reshaping the cornea can enhance the best way mild enters the attention and deal with imaginative and prescient issues, together with myopia.
Dr. Shye and his colleagues grouped the sufferers in response to their age, so they may evaluate the results of laser remedy in these aged 17 to 18 with these aged 19 to 40.
They discovered that the outcomes for older youngsters have been nearly as good and even higher than they have been for adults. Round 64% of the youngsters’ eyes achieved 20/20 imaginative and prescient (regular visible acuity), in contrast with 59% of grownup eyes.
The proportion of eyes that required a second remedy was very low (0.41%) in each teams. Problems resembling hazy imaginative and prescient or weakening of the cornea (ectasia) have been additionally very uncommon in each teams.
Dr. Shye mentioned, “That is by far the biggest examine of PRK in youngsters, and this huge pattern dimension means the findings are very dependable. A limitation is that it’s a retrospective examine, that means we analyzed knowledge that have been already collected, reasonably than organising a brand new trial from the start.
“The analysis means that for well-screened youngsters with steady myopia, PRK might be a secure and efficient possibility, particularly when contact lenses or glasses usually are not ultimate. These findings could help increasing the factors for providing PRK to chose youngsters. Age alone shouldn’t disqualify a motivated and well-suited teenager from having this remedy.”
The researchers will proceed to watch the youngsters who obtained laser remedy to test for very late issues or modifications in imaginative and prescient.
Professor Thomas Kohnen is Chair of the ESCRS Publication Committee, Director of the Division of Ophthalmology at Goethe College Frankfurt, Germany, and was not concerned within the analysis. He mentioned, “Brief-sightedness is growing worldwide in kids and youngsters, and it could possibly worsen as much as the age of 30. In kids, brief sightedness is handled with glasses or contact lenses, whereas adults can select to have laser remedy to appropriate their imaginative and prescient.
“This huge cohort examine of photorefractive keratectomy for treating short-sightedness exhibits that the process is secure and efficient for older youngsters, suggesting that this might be an alternate choice to glasses or contact lenses for some younger folks.”
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European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
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Examine finds laser correction for short-sightedness is secure and efficient for older youngsters (2025, September 15)
retrieved 15 September 2025
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