New Technique for Improving Cataract Surgery in Post-LASIK Patients

LASIK is a very successful vision treatment, but it cannot stop the aging of the eye's lens, which leads first to presbyopia and then to cataracts. Unfortunately, the changes LASIK makes in the cornea can make it more difficult to select an appropriate replacement lens during cataract surgery. Now, as the first generation of LASIK patients is reaching the age when cataract surgery becomes necessary, doctors are facing the challenge of trying to find an appropriate lens that will match the cornea to create a single effective visual system. Some researchers believe they have found the answer.

Results presented at the Hawaiian Eye conference show that intraoperative wavefront aberrometry might be an effective technique for improving the outcome of cataract surgery in LASIK patients. In the past, the challenge of calculating the appropriate intraocular lens to use in cataract surgery for prior LASIK patients involved some amount of guesswork. The new technique allows surgeons to measure the true refractive profile of the cornea during surgery to make precise decisions about the best intraocular lens to use. According to this very preliminary work, the new technique can significantly improve the accuracy of lens selection by as much as 0.5 diopters, which is the equivalent of one line on the Snellen eye chart.

If you have had LASIK surgery and are now beginning to experience the impact of aging eyes, such as presbyopia and cataracts, you need to talk to an ophthalmologist about the best treatment options for you. Please contact an ophthalmologist today.