Trends in Refractive Surgery in Yemen: Consecutive Review of 1933 Cases from a Single Center

Purpose: To study and quantify refractive surgery trends in a single refractive surgery practice.

Methods: A retrospective case series. Medical records were reviewed for all patients completing refractive surgery at Yemen Magrabi Hospital from January 01, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Patients had one of the following procedures: laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK), photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), phakic intraocular lens implants or refractive lens exchange (RLE). Corneal excimer procedures were done using the NIDEK EC-5000 and phakic intraocular lens used were Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL).

Results: Refractive surgery procedures were performed on 1021 patients (1933 eyes). Mean patient age was 26.81±6.16 years (range: 10 to 62 years). Female accounted for 55.7% (n=569) and males for 44.3% (n=452). Of the 1933 treated eyes, 60.1% (n=1162 eyes) had LASIK, 26.6% (n=515) of eyes had PRK, 10.9% (n=210) had ICL and 2.4% (n=46) had RLE.

Conclusion: LASIK was the predominant refractive surgical procedure offered in our practice, followed by PRK, ICL and finally RLE. Patients who request refractive surgery have a variety of problems and warrant comprehensive attention to selection criteria on the part of the surgeon.