Myopic LASIK in Psychiatric Patients

PURPOSE: To evaluate the surgical results obtained in patients with psychiatric disorders who underwent myopic laser in situ keratomileusis. (LASIK). METHODS: Retrospective study of 156 eyes of 82 patients who underwent LASIK to correct a myopic spherical equivalent (SE) at Clínica Baviera-Instituto Oftalmológico Europeo, Bilbao, Spain. All procedures were performed with the Technolas Keracor 217 Z excimer laser. Patients had a preoperative diagnosis of bipolar disorder (79 eyes of 42 patients), schizophrenia (61 eyes of 32 patients), or obsessive-compulsive disorder (16 eyes of 8 patients). Before surgery, the average sphere of the series was -3.92 ± 2.24 D in the first group, -3.45 ± 2.03 D in the second group, and -3.39 ± 1.97 D in the third group. We surveyed the patients to analyze subjective assessment from the patient's perspective. RESULTS: At the last available visit after treatment, we obtained an SE of ±0.50 D in 85.71% of eyes with bipolar disorder, 88.52% of eyes with schizophrenia, and 93.75% of eyes with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The efficacy index was 1.00 ± 0.20 in the first group, 1.03 ± 0.21 in the second group, and 1.00 ± 0.07 in the third group. No eye lost 2 lines or more of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity. CONCLUSIONS: We found that patients with compensated psychiatric disorders, of which the surgeon was aware, achieved excellent results after surgery, with no remarkable complications. Patients tolerated the procedures well and were satisfied.