Objective: To assess the outcomes of excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in high myopic patients with -7.00 to -13.00 Diopters (D) spherical equivalent (SE).

Material and Method: The medical records of 58 eyes of 58 patients who underwent PRK with a preoperative SE value of -7.00 to -13.00 D were reviewed retrospectively. Preoperative and at last visit after surgery, mean cycloplegic spherical and cylindrical refractive errors, SE, flat and steep keratometry (K1, K2), central corneal thickness (CCT), uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) values were noted. Corneal haze was graded from 0 to 4. Surgical reliability and efficiency were calculated.

Results: Mean follow-up time was 17.4±2.4 (6-48) months. Mitomycin-C 0.02% was applied to 39 out of 58 (67,2%) eyes. The mean spherical, cylindrical, and SE values were -8,4±1.8 D, -1.8±1.3 D, and -9.3±1.7 D at the preoperative examination and -0.3±1.2 D, -0.4±0.7 D, and -0.6±1.3 D at the postoperative last visit. All values significantly decreased after surgery (p <0.001 for all values). UCVA and BCVA values significantly increased after surgery (p <0.001 and p <0.001). At the postoperative last visit 5 (8,6%) eyes had stage 1, and 3 (5.1%) eyes had stage 2 corneal haze. There was no surgical complication other than corneal haze. The reliability index was 1.33 and the efficiency index was 1.07.

Conclusion: Excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy for refractive correction of high myopic patients is an effective and safe method.