All men and women had 2 to 8 diopters of simple myopia and were correctable to 20/20 or better with glasses or contact lenses. All patients had the stability of their myopia documented by previous records. Patients were at least 21 years of age and lived in the metropolitan area of the study centers. Each patient agreed to have surgery on one eye and to wait 1 year for surgery on the other eye. Patients with systemic diseases that might affect corneal wound healing and patients with high corneal astigmatism were excluded from the study.