LaserACE, CK combination a better option for hyperopic presbyopes

BARCELONA — A combination of LaserACE and conductive keratoplasty may be a better option for treating hyperopic patients who also have presbyopia, according to results of a preliminary study presented here.

Researchers in Ohio treated 10 patients aged 47 years to 57 years with the LaserACE procedure to restore their dynamic accommodative abilities. They then performed CK using Light Touch CK (Refractec) 3 months later to treat low hyperopia and optimize the dynamic range of visual function. All treatments were performed bilaterally.

"The precision of accommodation changed significantly in response to the LaserACE procedure, especially for intermediate vision, with some patients achieving J1+ and a visual dynamic range up to 1.3 D," Ann Marie Hipsley, PhD, said at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons Winter Refractive Surgery Meeting.

After bilateral CK, optimization of results was achieved, with restoration of the dynamic accommodation component up to 2 D or more, she said.

"In our opinion, CK might be a better option than LASIK or PRK for correcting hyperopia in combination with the presbyopic LaserACE procedure. It is a softer, safer, less invasive and reversible approach that preserves the cornea, and is a better choice also in view of future cataract interventions," she said.