Rethinking presbyopia: results of bilateral refractive lens exchange with trifocal intraocular lenses in 17 603 patients

Refractive lens exchange: What are the red lines?

Practical advancements in phacoemulsification techniques and intraocular lenses and the wide availability of phacoemulsification machines have led refractive lens exchange (RLE) to increase in popularity. Ethical boundaries in RLE have subsequently been pushed to include patients at higher risk of complications. In this editorial, we consider RLE outcomes and complications per type of refractive error, together with preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative ethical obligations for refractive surgeons. In the conclusions section, we propose an algorithm for ethics-guided indications to RLE.

Clinical Outcomes of a Bi-Aspheric Trifocal Diffractive Intraocular Lens

Purpose

To assess refractive and visual outcomes post-cataract surgery with bilateral implantation of a bi-aspheric diffractive trifocal intraocular lens (IOL).

Methods

A total of 24 patients who underwent bilateral implantation with the Asqelio Trifocal IOL TFLIO130C were evaluated at the 6 months postoperative mark. Key outcome measures included refractive error, photopic monocular and binocular uncorrected and corrected distance visual acuity (UDVA, CDVA), uncorrected and corrected intermediate visual acuity (UIVA, CDIVA) at 60 cm, and uncorrected and corrected near visual acuity (UNVA, CDNVA) at 40 cm. Additionally, monocular and binocular CDNVA were assessed under mesopic conditions. Monocular and binocular defocus curves, and binocular contrast sensitivity under photopic and mesopic conditions, with and without glare, were measured. Catquest-9SF and visual symptoms questionnaires were also administered.

Results

Postoperative average values of binocular logMAR photopic CDVA, photopic CDIVA, photopic CDNVA and mesopic CDNVA were -0.01±0.06, 0.03±0.09, 0.02±0.05 and 0.19±0.13, respectively. About 100% of patients showed cumulative CDVA and CDNVA ≥20/25, and CDIVA ≥20/32. The average absolute depth-of-focus was about 4.50D. The average postoperative spherical equivalent was 0.05±0.30D and 100% and 93.75% eyes were within ±1.00D and ±0.50D, respectively. Contrast sensitivity was either within or above normal levels under both photopic and mesopic conditions, both with and without glare, except for 12 cpd under mesopic conditions with glare where the mean falls just below the normal range. Questionnaires revealed that 87.5% of patients were either satisfied or very satisfied with their vision after the surgery, and higher percentages for no difficulty in performing different activities, ranging from 70.83% to 95.83%, were reported.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that the bi-aspheric diffractive trifocal IOL yields very good visual performance across distances, fostering high satisfaction levels and minimal difficulties in daily activities.

Long-term Clinical Outcomes After Trifocal Intraocular Lens Implantation: A Retrospective Observational Study

PURPOSE

To evaluate the long-term stability of the AcrySof IQ PanOptix TFNT00 intraocular lens (IOL) (Alcon Laboratories, Inc).

METHODS

This was a retrospective review of 1,065 eyes (745 patients) who underwent implantation of a PanOptix IOL. A total of 296 eyes (mean age: 58.62 ± 5.63 years and preoperative refractive error: -0.68 ± 3.01 diopters [D]) met inclusion criteria for this study. The objective refraction, uncorrected distance and near visual acuity (UDVA and UNVA), and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) were evaluated at postoperative months 1, 2, 6, 12, 24, and 36.

RESULTS

The refractive error was -0.20 ± 0.36 D at 1 month, -0.20 ± 0.35 D at 2 months (P = .503), -0.10 ± 0.37 D at 6 months (P < .001), -0.02 ± 0.38 D at 12 months (P < .001), 0.00 ± 0.38 D at 24 months (P < .001), and 0.03 ± 0.39 D at 36 months (P < .001). Multivariate analysis showed long-term, independent associations for young age (beta = -0.122; P = .029) and changes in mean keratometry (beta = -0.413; P < .001). A greater refractive change was associated with a greater change in UNVA (r = 0.134; P = .026) but not with UDVA (r = -0.029; P = .631) or CDVA (r = -0.010; P = .875).

CONCLUSIONS

Implantation of the PanOptix IOL yields stable clinical outcomes for visual acuity and refractive error for the first 3 years. A slight hyperopic shift, causing decreased near visual acuity, is anticipated for younger patients. [J Refract Surg. 2023;39(4):236-241.].