Toric IOLs improve vision in cataract patients with prior PK

ATLANTA — Toric IOLs significantly improved refraction and visual acuity in patients with cataracts who had undergone previous penetrating keratoplasty, a specialist said here.

"This is the first study examining the efficacy of toric intraocular lenses for visual rehabilitation following penetrating keratoplasty," Renee Solomon, MD, said at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.

The study included 10 eyes of eight patients with a mean cylinder of 1 D to 5 D. Mean patient age was 60 years. IOL implantation was performed a minimum 3 months after suture removal. Patients underwent postoperative follow-up examinations at 2 weeks, 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, and later, as needed.

Preoperatively, mean uncorrected visual acuity was 20/300, mean best corrected visual acuity was 20/70, mean spherical equivalent was 2.62 D, and mean cylinder was 3.37 D.

After lens implantation, mean UCVA was 20/40, mean BCVA was 20/25, mean spherical equivalent was –0.67 D, and mean cylinder was 1.27 D.

Astigmatism decreased from a mean of 2.62 D to 1.48 D. No patients lost lines of uncorrected or corrected visual acuity.

"Toric intraocular lenses are a safe and effective way to correct spherical error and astigmatism in eyes with cataracts that have undergone prior corneal transplantation," Dr. Solomon said. "Further study is needed with a longer follow-up and a larger cohort."