Aspheric wavefront-guided LASIK boosts near vision in hyperopic presbyopes

J Refract Surg. 2011;27(7):519-529.

Hyperopic LASIK with an aspheric ablation profile improved near vision in hyperopic presbyopes at 12 months, a study found.

“Aspheric laser ablations create a multifocal optical system, which can accomplish good vision at intermediate and near distances. The ablation allows customized correction of sphere, cylinder and higher-order aberrations. Another advantage lies in its ability to adjust for pupil size,” the study authors said.

The prospective study included 66 eyes of 33 patients who underwent bilateral aspheric LASIK with the Visx Star S4 or Star S4 IR excimer laser (Abbott Medical Optics). WaveScan software (AMO) was used to generate an aspheric ablation profile based on mesopic pupil size. Wavefront-guided hyperopic correction was driven by CustomVue (AMO). Mean patient age was 55.1 years.

Visual and refractive outcomes were evaluated at 1 week and 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. A questionnaire with a five-point scale was used to gauge patient satisfaction.

Sixty eyes of 30 patients were available for 6-month follow-up, and 50 eyes of 25 patients completed 12-month follow-up.

Study results at 6 months showed a mean gain in distance-corrected near visual acuity of 2.7 lines, with a maximum of six lines at near. No eye lost two or more lines of distance-corrected near visual acuity.

At 12 months, all eyes had binocular uncorrected visual acuity of 20/25 or better and near vision of J3. Data also showed normal contrast sensitivity.

A majority of patients reported high satisfaction with visual sharpness and clarity, the authors reported.