Refractive IOL shows excellent distance, intermediate vision

Key Points

George H.H. Beiko, BM, BCh, FRCSC, in private practice at St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, presented results to date of a prospective study that enrolled 161 patients at 18 centers to assess the quality of vision-and change in vision over time-with bilateral implantation of the hydrophilic acrylic three-piece lens with zonal refractive optics.

All patients undergoing either clear lensectomy or cataract surgery with one of 18 participating surgeons were eligible for inclusion in the study with the exception of those who had conditions that might predispose them to decreased vision or in whom the lens would not be anticipated to give good results, Dr. Beiko said. Such conditions include significant dry eye, corneal scarring, mild to moderate myopia, pupil diameter of less than 2.5 mm, a monofocal implant in the first eye, and significant astigmatism, he added.

Dr. Beiko reported data on 106 patients who had completed the 6-week follow-up and 98 who had completed the 6-month follow-up. "We are continuing to gather information on the patients," he said.

Mean patient age was 62 years. At the 6-week follow-up, 12.7% of the 106 patients were aged 50 or fewer years, 20.6% were aged 51 to 60 years, and 66.7% were aged at least 61 years. At the 6-month follow-up, 10.2% of the 98 patients were aged up to 50 years, 20.4% were aged 51 to 60 years, and 69.4% were aged at least 61 years.

Dr. Beiko said the study's gender distribution reflects that seen in his cataract practice: 55% of the 106 patients at the 6-week follow-up were female, as were 59.5% of the 98 patients at the 6-month follow-up.

Vision improvement

"The postop refraction was targeted at emmetropia to +0.50 D so as to allow the patient good distance vision for driving," Dr. Beiko said.