OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of diluted topic anesthetic proximetacaine on the symptoms and corneal re-epithelialization in postoperative photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). METHODS: A prospective, comparative and double-blind Study. Patients were divided into two groups: With (n=32) and Without (n=24) the use of Mitomycin C at 0.02% (indicated for eyes with 4 or more diopters). Each patient received two bottles of eye drops one had artificial tear carmellose sodium 0.5%, and other had the same along with 0.125% proximetacaine. The choice of which eye would receive one or another was random. Each patient was asked, at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd postoperative days, about the type of presenting symptom on each eye and its intensity (assessed by Pain Visual Analogue Scale). The corneal re-epithelialization of each eye was evaluated at the first and fifth postoperative days. RESULTS: The scores were significantly lower in the eyes in which anesthetic was used for both groups. The decrease in symptomatology was significantly superior in the eyes that received concomitantly the diluted anesthetic and the mitomycin when compared to the eyes that received only the anesthetic. There were only three cases of corneal re-epithelialization retardation in mitomycin group. CONCLUSION: The diluted proximetacaine, at the concentration and dosage proposed in this study, is safe and non-toxic to the corneal epithelium, providing significant relief for PRK postoperative symptoms. When combined, the diluted symptoms.
Anesthetics, local; Anesthetics, local; Propoxycaine; Mitomycin; Photorefractive keratectomy
