Corneal Higher-Order Aberrations and Visual Acuity After Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty in Treating Limbal Dermoid.

Purpose: To evaluate the corneal higher-order aberrations (HOAs) in eyes with limbal dermoids before and after excision and anterior lamellar keratoplasty (ALK) and its impact on visual acuity.

Methods: This retrospective consecutive study included 39 eyes of 39 patients with limbal dermoid who underwent ALK. Higher-order aberrations were measured using anterior segment optical coherence tomography. The correlation between HOAs and visual acuity was investigated.

Results: The mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution significantly improved from 0.21±0.41 to 0.12±0.34 after ALK (P=0.038). The HOAs of the total cornea within a 4-mm diameter significantly decreased from 2.66±5.51 μm to 1.09±1.48 after ALK (P=0.006). Logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution was significantly correlated with corneal HOAs (r=0.610, P<0.001 before ALK, r=0.518, P=0.008 after ALK), preoperative corneal astigmatism (r = -0.336, P=0.036), and dermoid diameter (r=0.467, P=0.004) but not with postoperative corneal astigmatism (r=0.017, P=0.934).

Conclusions: Corneal HOAs and dermoid diameter were associated with decreased visual acuity in limbal dermoid. Excision of limbal dermoids and ALK significantly reduced corneal HOA and improved visual acuity.