Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: Glare and starburst patterns around lights are a frequent complaint of some LASIK patients. We created a new device to quantify subjective glare/starburst seen by patients after LASIK and to better understand contributing factors such as residual refractive error, pupil size, and preoperative refraction. Methods: A device was created consisting of two points of light separated by 4 inches. The device was placed 8 feet from the subject in a dark room. After 15 seconds of dark adaptation and sufficient time to view the device, each subject compared their subjective impression to the attached key (see Figure 1). The picture that correlated best with their observation was recorded. The key was then used to calculate a glare radius for each observation. This was done with and without best corrected vision for each eye separately. Enrollment was limited to patients with best corrected vision of 20/20, no corneal or lenticular haze/opacity, at least 3 months post LASIK, and preoperative myopia less than 6 diopters. A non-LASIK control group was created from myopes that also met these criteria. Results: Forty-five eyes were measured. In the LASIK group (n=21) the average glare radius was 20mm without correction and 19mm with refraction (p=0.42). In the control group (n=24) the average radius of glare was 5.5mm. The difference in glare radius was statistically greater in the LASIK group (p<0.001). There was no statistical correlation between either pupil size or preoperative refractive error and glare radius. Conclusion: Our data suggest there is a significant quantitative increase in starburst pattern around lights after LASIK, which does not improve with refraction. This device allows quantification of this subjective complaint. It will be useful in examining the benefits of larger ablation zones and wavefront treatments in the future. A larger series is necessary to investigate the possible relationship of pupil size and amount of treatment to starburst size. Figure 1
Keywords: 548 refractive surgery: LASIK • 550 refractive surgery: optical quality • 369 cornea: clinical science