Aspheric IOL produces less spherical aberration, higher patient satisfaction than spherical lens

CHICAGO — Patients report better vision with the new AcrySof ReSTOR Aspheric IOL than with the standard ReSTOR model as a result of less spherical aberration, according to one surgeon here.

"We found this a major move forward in technical design," said Satish S. Modi, MD, here at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

Dr. Modi presented outcomes for 40 total patients implanted with the lenses. In the patient group, 15 received bilateral ReSTOR IOLs (Alcon) and 25 received bilateral aspheric ReSTOR IOLs (Alcon).

At a 3.5-mm pupil aperture, both the regular and the aspheric lenses had a spherical aberration of .01. However, at a 5-mm aperture, the regular ReSTOR IOL had a 15-fold increase in spherical aberration, compared to only a six-fold increase for the aspheric ReSTOR IOL.

"This directly translates into clinical results," Dr. Modi said.

According to information supplied by Alcon, the aspheric optic was designed with a negative spherical aberration for the purpose of compensating for the cornea's natural positive spherical aberration.

In patient-reported outcomes, there was a "marked improvement in glare and a marked improvement in problems with night vision" for those who received the aspheric lens, Dr. Modi said.

"Patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the aspheric group," he said.

On the first day postop, 6% of the patients implanted with the regular ReSTOR lens achieved 20/20 visual acuity, while 43% of patients implanted with the aspheric model were 20/20. Additionally, 85% of those with the aspheric lenses had 20/30 vision on postop day 1.

"At day 19, 100% of the aspheric patients were seeing 20/30," Dr. Modi said.