Presby-LASIK holds promise for young presbyopes, surgeon says

LISBON, Portugal — A LASIK procedure that results in a multifocal cornea shows promise as a future method for correction of presbyopia in relatively young patients, one surgeon told an audience here.

José Ruiz Colecha, MD, presented results of a study comparing results with the technique, called presby-LASIK, to results with pseudoaccommodating and accommodating IOLs.

“Presby-LASIK has got a great potential, and with more development in the software, this method will be the future for the young presbyope,” Dr. Colecha told attendees at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.

In the study, uncorrected distance and near visual acuities were recorded preoperatively and postoperatively, and best corrected distance and near visual acuities were recorded preoperatively. The data for both UCVA and BCVA were plotted together on a graph designed by the Vissum Institute in Alicante, Spain.

The study he presented included 56 eyes, of which 14 underwent presby-LASIK, 28 were implanted with a pseudoaccommodating IOL and 14 were implanted with an accommodating IOL.

According to Dr. Colecha, the presby-LASIK eyes showed improvement in distance visual acuity and what he called a “variable improvement” for near vision.

The pseudoaccommodating lenses showed varying results, he said, sometimes showing stability for near vision but not for distance, and sometimes the opposite.

“The results so far for the pseudoaccommodative lenses are not encouraging because of great variability in the outcome,” Dr. Colecha told the audience.

He concluded that accommodating IOLs held promise for patients with presbyopia due to their stable performance for both distance and near vision.