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LASIK-induced aberrations compromise contrast sensitivity
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Conventional LASIK significantly increased ocular higher-order aberrations, compromising postoperative contrast sensitivity, a Japanese study found.
Nayori Yamane and colleagues at the University of Tsukuba studied the postoperative optical aberrations in 200 eyes of 110 consecutive patients who underwent conventional LASIK. The mean age of the patients was 32.7 years, and the mean myopic correction was 5.2 D. Higher-order aberrations were measured for a 4-mm pupil using Topcon’s Shack-Hartmann wavefront analyzer.
LASIK significantly improved best corrected visual acuity but significantly reduced the area under the log contrast sensitivity function (P < .001) and low-contrast VA. Total higher-order, coma-like and spherical-like aberrations were significantly increased after LASIK, the study authors found.
The greater the achieved myopic correction, the more changes in contrast sensitivity and higher-order aberrations occurred. Induced change in the area under the log contrast sensitivity function by LASIK showed significant correlation with changes in total higher-order, coma-like and spherical-like aberrations.
The study is published in the November issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.