Pseudophakic astigmatism reduction with femtosecond laser-assisted corneal arcuate incisions: a pilot study

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Verion-LenSx guided arcuate incision technique to reduce refractive astigmatism in a pseudophakic population. PATIENTS AND METHODS A prospective single-arm study was conducted in which one or both eyes of subjects required reduction of 1.0-2.0 D of refractive astigmatism after previous cataract surgery or refractive lens exchange. The surgeon used the refractive cylinder in the eye and the Woodcock astigmatism nomogram for preoperative planning, while the LenSx femtosecond laser with the Verion Image Guided System was used to create all arcuate incisions. The primary outcome measure was the uncorrected monocular distance visual acuity (UCVA). Secondary outcome measures included the change in corneal astigmatism, the change in refractive astigmatism, the best-corrected visual acuity and spectacle independence at distance from preoperative stage to 1 month and 2 months postoperatively. RESULTS Twenty-eight eyes of 18 subjects were treated. The best-corrected visual acuity at the 2-month postoperative (PO) stage was not statistically significantly different from the preoperative visual acuity (0.02 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution [logMAR] in both cases, P>0.05). Uncorrected visual acuity was statistically significantly better at the 2-month PO stage relative to the preoperative value (0.14 versus 0.34 logMAR, P<0.01). The mean change in refractive cylinder from the preoperative stage to the 2-month PO stage was 1.0 D. At the 2-month PO stage, two-thirds of the subjects (12/18) reported that they did not use glasses for distance vision and that their spectacle use for distance vision at 2 months was "lower" or "much lower" than the preoperative stage; in 71% of eyes (20/28), the residual refractive cylinder was ≤0.50 D. Vector changes in keratometric astigmatism were weakly associated with changes in refractive cylinder. CONCLUSION Arcuate incisions made with a femtosecond laser to treat moderate levels of residual refractive astigmatism after previous cataract surgery may reduce dependence on spectacles for distance vision.