Epi-Lasik candidate

[Rohank]

Hey, Congrats everyone for running this wonderful forum.

I am 33, have been wearing glasses for the last 16 years. Never wore contacts lenses, tried a couple of times but each time for 3-4 hours and that's it. Somehow, struggled to fit-in contacts in the first place, and whenever i tried felt that itchy feeling. God has been kind and never had any eye issue except that now i am exploring options for life without  spectacles. Recently, got my tests done, are here are the details -

Right Eye
cornea thickness: 484 microns
Pupil dia: 2.95 mm
Astig: -1.0 D (cornea front), and +0.3D (cornea back)

Left Eye
cornea thickness: 475 microns
Pupil dia: 2.95 mm
Astig: -1.6 D (cornea front), and +0.5 D (cornea back)

The specs i wear are -3.25 and -4.00.

The doc said, that though my cornea its not abnormally thin but they are at the lower end of normal thickness, and hence suggested that i should go for Epi-Lasik instead of Lasik. His point was it would prevent any loss of corneal tissues, and with my number, epi-lasik should give satisfactory results. I wanted to check from experts here on this forum, that is that the right inference? and are my cornea abnomally thin?

The doc uses Concerto Laser and performs both Custom and Wavefront LASIK procedures.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

1. Thin cornea may be more prone to glaucoma and pressure in the eye may be underestimated.
2. It limits the amount of myopia that can be treated.

JCH MD

[Rohank]

Thanks JCH. With that kind of thickness, would it be advisable to go for Epi-Lasik?

Also, does thin cornea could be a cause of concern in general? Not that, i could do anything about it.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Central corneal thickness will vary with age, refractive error, method used to test.  If you're looking for a average number about 555-540 microns is "normal for most"  The cornea is thinner in myopes and thicker in hyperopes.  so yes your corneas are thinner than normal
JCH MD