Although the initial refractive results of conventional manual or alcohol assisted PRK for hyperopia were encouraging, the frequently encountered post-PRK complications including undercorrection, overcorrection and regression of the hyperopic error had downgraded the conventional PRK as a preferred procedure for hyperopic correction.~Transepithelial PRK provides an alternative technique to uniformly remove the epithelium using the excimer laser to minimize the potential complications caused by mechanical or alcohol assisted epithelial removal in conventional PRK. Advances in transepithelial PRK technology have allowed refractive surgeons to remove the epithelium followed by stromal laser ablation in a single step instead of performing the procedure in 2 separate steps known as phototherapeutic keratectomy-photorefractive keratectomy (PTK-PRK).~Most of the previous studies paid particular attention to investigate the accuracy and safety of single-step transepithelial PRK in correcting myopia and myopic astigmatism. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the visual and refractive outcomes of the single-step transepithelial PRK procedure in correcting moderate hyperopia and hyperopic astigmatism.
Hyperopia is one of the commonest refractive errors encountered in ophthalmology practice.~Laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) has been widely used to correct hyperopia especially with the advent of femtosecond laser technology allowing larger flap creation suitable for peripheral hyperopic ablations with resultant predictable, effective, and safe refractive outcomes. However, the encountered LASIK flap complications encouraged many surgeons to assess efficiency and safety of surface ablation techniques such as photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) to correct hyperopia.