acrysof restor multifocal versus acrysof sa60at monofocal intraocular lenses: a comparison of visual acuity and contrast sensitivity

purpose : to compare visual quality in patients receiving alcon acrysof restor multifocal versus acrysof sa60at monofocal intraocular lenses (iol) methods : in this interventional study, patients with senile cataract undergoing surgery were enrolled. the age of the patients ranged between 40 and 85 years, and their potential preoperative vision was 20/30 or better. in all patients phacoemulsification was performed through a temporal 2.8 mm incision. postoperative visual acuity (va), refraction, and contrast sensitivity (with and without glare) tests were done at 1 and 3 months. a total of 101 eyes were evaluated. a multifocal iol was implanted in 52.5% of cases, and in the rest, a monofocal iol was used. results : at 3 months, the mean distant va without and with correction was 0.11 and 0.04 logmar, respectively, in the multifocal iol group, and 0.14 and 0.03 logmar, respectively, in the monofocal iol group (p>0.10). the near va without and with correction was 0.14 and 0.05 logmar, respectively, in the multifocal group and 0.22 and 0.04 logmar, respectively, in the monofocal iol group, statistically significantly better in the multifocal group (p=0.038). at 3 months after surgery, contrast sensitivity with and without glare showed statistically significant inter-group differences at 6, 12 and 18 cycles per degree (cpd), and at 6 and 12 cpd, respectively. these figures were higher in monofocal group. conclusion : use of multifocal iols in cataract surgery can restore near vision to some extent in addition to distant vision. contrast sensitivity in recipients of multifocal iols is lower than those with monofocal iols.   iranian journal of ophthalmology 200921(4):25-31 © 2009 by the iranian society of ophthalmology