FEB 27, 2013
Refractive Mgmt/Intervention
This case-control study evaluated plasma levels of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) patients treated with mitomycin-C (MMC) and found that there was no measurable evidence of systemic absorption of MMC. The authors conclude that this information allows counseling of patients on the extremely low likelihood of systemic absorption or toxicity following current techniques for refractive surgery.
Although systemic absorption has been found with the use of MMC in larger quantities as a chemotherapeutic agent, it was not previously known if MMC toxicity concerns could be extrapolated to the refractive surgery population. It has been assumed that the low application amount and duration of MMC with PRK surgery is benign. However, the amount of systemic absorption through this refractive surgery technique had not been studied.
Subjects in the study were 30 male and female active-duty soldiers undergoing excimer laser PRK with MMC. Each provided a blood sample 30 minutes after being treated with MMC 0.2 mg/mL (0.02%) for 30 seconds. Plasma samples were evaluated by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry to determine whether MMC was present.
There was zero detection of MMC in the submitted samples. The quantifiable limit was greater than 10.0 ng/mL. All samples were below this.