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A serious research of laser correction for short-sightedness reveals 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 frequent.
A laser therapy, 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 research was offered by Dr. Avinoam Shye, from the Division of Ophthalmology at Rambam Well being Care Campus in Haifa, Israel.
He mentioned, “Some docs fear that the eyes of youngsters should be altering or that their eyes may reply otherwise to therapeutic after laser therapy, rising the chance of unintended effects. Nevertheless, in sure conditions, youngsters do need everlasting options to their myopia.
“We noticed that despite these concerns, many teenagers aged 17 or 18 were getting excellent results. That led us to study whether PRK is truly a safe and effective option for this age group.”
The research included a gaggle of sufferers with myopia who had 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 gentle to enter the attention, so reshaping the cornea can enhance the best way gentle 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 might evaluate the results of laser therapy in these aged 17 to 18 with these aged 19 to 40.
They discovered that the outcomes for older youngsters had been nearly as good and even higher than they had 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 therapy was very low (0.41%) in each teams. Problems corresponding to hazy imaginative and prescient or weakening of the cornea (ectasia) had been additionally very uncommon in each teams.
Dr. Shye mentioned, “That is by far the biggest research of PRK in youngsters, and this massive pattern dimension means the findings are very dependable. A limitation is that it’s a retrospective research, that means we analyzed information that had been already collected, somewhat than establishing a brand new trial from the start.
“The research suggests that for well-screened teenagers with stable myopia, PRK could be a safe and effective option, especially when contact lenses or glasses are not ideal. These findings may support expanding the criteria for offering PRK to selected teenagers. Age alone should not disqualify a motivated and well-suited teenager from having this treatment.”
The researchers will proceed to observe the youngsters who acquired laser therapy 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 rising worldwide in youngsters and youngsters, and it might worsen as much as the age of 30. In youngsters, quick sightedness is handled with glasses or contact lenses, whereas adults can select to have laser therapy to appropriate their imaginative and prescient.
“This large cohort study of photorefractive keratectomy for treating short-sightedness shows that the procedure is safe and effective for older teenagers, suggesting that this could be an alternative option to glasses or contact lenses for some young people.”
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European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
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Research finds laser correction for short-sightedness is secure and efficient for older youngsters (2025, September 15)
retrieved 15 September 2025
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