Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: The objective of this study is to assess the subjective quality of functional vision in post–conventional LASIK patients with unsatisfactory visual outcomes by means of Activities of Daily Vision Scale (ADVS) questionnaire. Methods: 13 post–conventional LASIK patients (Age range: 26 to 55 years, Mean 41.5 ± 10.5) and 15 normal subjects (Age range: 23 to 63 years, Mean 48.4 ± 12.2) wearing spectacle/contact lens correction were included. Both groups were matched for age and baseline refractive error as much as possible. In the LASIK group, complications arising due to negligence of the personnel such as incorrect entry of refractive error and insufficient baseline examination were excluded. Only common intraoperative complications concerning flap and centration were included. All subjects completed the ADVS questionnaire, which provides a useful measure of visual function for a number of visual tasks, broadly categorized as distance vision, near vision, daytime driving, nighttime driving and glare disability. Results: The mean ADVS scores for each subscale described above and the overall score are 39.8, 43.2, 43.8, 44.8, 26.0 and 39.5 respectively for LASIK group and 89.8, 94.1, 92.8, 80.8, 86.1 and 88.7 respectively for the normal group. The difference in subjective scores is highly significant (P<0.01) for each category of visual task by the Independent sample t–test. The greatest difference in scores between LASIK and normal groups was observed for glare disability. Analyzing the difference in scores within the LASIK group among the 5 categories of visual tasks, scores for activity involving glare was significantly lower compared to other tasks by the Repeated–Measures ANOVA test. Conclusions: The quality of vision assessed subjectively reveals that post–conventional LASIK patients with symptoms of blurred vision, distortions, ghosting and starbursts as a result of refractive surgery have significantly deteriorated functional vision while performing a wide variety of visual tasks involving distance and near in bright and dim illumination. Among the daily visual tasks, visual symptoms arising due to glare pose the greatest difficulty in post–conventional LASIK patients.
Keywords: refractive surgery: optical quality • refractive surgery: complications • quality of life