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Biological differences could assist in IOL selection
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BERLIN — Males tend to prefer better distance vision, while females tend to prefer better near vision, preferences that could be best satisfied by implanting refractive distant dominant IOLs in men and diffractive and refractive near dominant IOLs in women, an expert said here.
By selecting IOLs based on gender preferences, overall patient satisfaction might be improved, according to Magda Rau, MD. Dr. Rau said that visual preferences of the sexes could possibly be explained by human biology, a factor that might aid in IOL selection.
"The behaviors of men and women didn't change since the stone age," she said at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting here.
Stratifying results from four previous multifocal IOL studies of 100 men and 100 women, Dr. Rau found that men complained more than women about glare and halos, both of which obscure the distance vision that is necessary for hunting.
In addition, Dr. Rau found that women, who tend to have shorter arms than men, complained more than men about reading with glasses and being unable to see at close distances, which is needed for gathering.
The studies separately examined results of implanting the Array (Advanced Medical Optics), Tecnis (Advanced Medical Optics), ReZoom (Advanced Medical Optics) and MF4 (Zeiss) in both male and female patients.
This study confirms that men and women have different feelings and necessities regarding quality of vision. Surgeons implanting multifocal IOLs should recognize that males and females have to be approached with different styles. Men prefer good far vision, and they are very critical about glare and halos. The lastest generation of refractive IOLs match these needs. It is necessary to understand that refractive IOLs need to be implanted always, when possible, in the dominant eye. But refractive IOLs are pupil-size dependent, so it is important to study pupil size and have a pupil size limit, for example 5.2 mm, to implant a refractive IOL. On the other hand, women are happier with good near vision, and this situation perfectly matches diffractive IOL implantation in both eyes.
– Matteo Piovella, MD
OSN Europe/Asia-Pacific Edition Associate Editor