Is quest for super-vision misguided?

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The pursuit of optical perfection in refractive surgery may be misguided, according to a speaker here. Correction of higher-order optical aberrations might be more valuable for improving diagnostic instrumentation than for correcting a patient’s refractive error, suggested Lawrence Thibos, OD.

At a symposium on optical aberrations here at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting, Dr. Thibos raised doubts over the wisdom and appropriateness of the use of super-vision as a standard for visual performance.

Dr. Thibos said some optical aberrations are not only acceptable but even desirable. He said the emphasis that has been placed on achieving perfect optics in refractive surgery might be misguided.

“Aberrations are not all bad,” he said. “For people with pathological (optical) aberrations, just to be ‘normal’ would be like having super-vision to them. Wouldn’t it be better to put our efforts into helping those who are truly needing to achieve ‘normal’ optical quality instead?”

Dr. Thibos said the correction of optical aberrations may be most beneficial for the development of diagnostic instrumentation.

“The primary barrier to high quality fundus imaging is the poor quality of the patient’s eye. I think that improving the quality of this instrumentation should have a major benefit to patient health in the long run,” he said.