Subbasal nerve fiber regeneration after LASIK and LASEK assessed by noncontact esthesiometry and in vivo confocal microscopy: Prospective study

Corneal sensitivity and subbasal nerve morphology were adversely affected by LASEK and LASIK. Corneal sensitivity recovered 3 months after the procedure, but subbasal nerves were still abnormal after 6 months. Despite the different forms of surgical trauma to corneal nerves with LASIK and LASEK, there was no apparent difference in the time course of recovery of corneal structure and function.