Abstract
Purpose: :
This study investigated whether "blended vision" following bilateral monofocal intraocular lens implantation may be offered as an acceptable alternative to standard monofocal and multifocal lens implantation through evaluation of postoperative spectacle independence and vision-related quality of life.
Methods: :
This study compares two groups. Group 1 includes patients who have had standard bilateral monofocal implants corrected for distance. Group 2 includes patients who have had bilateral monofocal implants corrected for blended vision. We defined blended vision as modified monovision where the near vision eye is corrected for intermediate distance rather than near with 0.75 to 1.25 diopters of residual myopia. All patients completed the National Eye Institute Refractive Error Quality of Life Instrument-42 (NEI-RQL-42) to evaluate vision-related quality of life, including dependence on spectacles. We also compare our results to existing data in the literature where patients following bilateral ReSTOR implants have completed the same NEI-RQL-42 questionnaire.
Results: :
10 subjects with blended vision and 8 controls were studied. There was no statistical difference among any of the 13 NEI-RQL-42 categories with the exception of near vision. Median scores for near vision were 93.75 and 62.50 for the blended vision and control groups, respectively (Mann Whitney, p= 0.0243). In comparing previous studies which reported NEI-RQL-42 scores of patients following bilateral ReSTOR implants, our blended vision group demonstrated comparable vision-related quality of life in all reported survey categories, exceeding the multifocal satisfaction level for near vision by a margin of 18% (93.75 vs. 77.08, blended vision vs. multifocal, respectively).
Conclusions: :
Blended vision may be an acceptable alternative to standard monofocal and multifocal implants for those patients wishing to achieve a high level of vision-related quality of life, especially in terms of near vision.
Keywords: quality of life • treatment outcomes of cataract surgery