agent such as diclofenac sodium and the steroidal composition contains a corticosteroid such as fluorometholone these ophthalmic medicaments when used in combination reduce the post operative pain particularly associated with phototherapeutic keratectomy and photorefractive keratectomy performed with an excimer laser and promote re epithelialization over the reprofiled corneal surface application_number US 4576193 A description as noted above it has been found that the immediate post operative use of an ophthalmic nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drug nsaid solution combined with a topical corticosteroid significantly reduces the pain after corneal surgery especially following excimer prk and ptk the nsaid solution utilized in the method of the present invention can be any such formulation suitable for topical use the topical nsaid solutions should preferably be isotonic and have a relatively neutral ph conventionally ophthalmic solutions are rendered isotonic by the addition of alkali metal salts preferably sodium salts representative of such ophthalmic formulations include aqueous solutions of diclofenac flubriprofen suprofen and ketorolac other equivalent ophthalmic formulations may also be selected in this regard attention should be focussed on the formulation 39 s ability to reduce post operative ophthalmic pain synergistically in combination with a topical corticosteroid one such synergistic pain reducing combination would be the blocking of separate intermediate pathways involved in the production of pain producing prostaglandins a particularly preferred ophthalmic nsaid formulation for use in the present method is a 0 1 aqueous solution of diclofenac sodium available from ciba vision ophthalmics atlanta ga under the trademark voltarin ophthalmic diclofenac sodium itself is designated chemically as 2 2 6 dichlorophenyl amino benzoacetic acid monosodium salt with an empirical formula c 14 h 10 cl.