Rabbits premedicated with intramuscular (IM) injection of midazolam (0.7 mg/kg) and hydromorphone (0.1 mg/kg) were anesthetized using an IM injection of ketamine (15–30 mg/kg) followed by isoflurane (1%–4%) inhalation. The surgical area was disinfected with 0.2% povidone-iodine solution. The cornea of the right eye (OD) was treated with 0.5% proparacaine hydrochloride ophthalmic solution (Alcon) and a central zone marked with an 8 mm trephine (MSI Instruments, Phoenixville, PA). The epithelium within the marked area was then debrided using an excimer spatula (Beaver-Visitec International, Inc, Waltham, MA) followed by a PTK (6 mm diameter, 40 Hz, 250 pulses, 100 µm depth) using a NIDEK EC-5000 excimer laser (Nidek Co. Ltd, Gamagori, Japan) as described previously.38 (link) The left eye remained unwounded and served as a control. Atropine sulfate ophthalmic solution 1% (Akorn, Inc., Lake Forest, IL) and ofloxacin 0.3% ophthalmic solution (Alcon) were administrated OD following the PTK treatment. Buprenorphine (0.04 mg/kg) was administered subcutaneously for postoperative analgesia. Rabbits were randomly assigned to receive 40 µl of BSS (n = 6, vehicle control) or Fe2O3 NP (250 µg/ml) in BSS (n = 6) in both eyes six times a day.