AIM: To analyze changes in objective visual quality before and after femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis(FS-LASIK)and smart pulse technology-assisted transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy(SMART).

METHODS: Prospective study. We collected 50 cases(100 eyes)treated with FS-LASIK(FS-LASIK group)and another 50 cases(100 eyes)treated with SMART(SMART group)from the Ophthalmology Department of our hospital between October 2018 and December 2018 using Optical Quality Analysis System(OQAS)to measure objective scatter index(OSI), modulation transfer function cut off frequency(MTF cut off), strehl ratio(SR)before and after surgery.

RESULTS: In the FS-LASIK and SMART groups, the OSI values were higher in the 1 and 3mo after surgery, whereas the MTF cut off and SR were lower in the 1 and 3mo after surgery(P<0.05). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in the objective visual quality index before and after 1mo(P>0.05). However, after 3mo, the OSI value of the FS-LASIK group was higher than the SMART group(0.88±0.28 vs 0.70±0.27, P<0.001), whereas the SR was lower than SMART group(0.21±0.05 vs 0.24±0.05, P=0.002).

CONCLUSION: Both FS-LASIK and SMART caused an increase in the intraocular scattering index and a decrease in objective visual quality. However, the visual quality of the SMART group was generally better than that of the FS-LASIK group, and long-term visual quality was more dominant.