Improvement of visual acuity following refractive surgery for myopia and myopic anisometropia.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that anisometropic adults without significant amblyopia suffer from mild visual impairment probably due to aniseikonia, which might be improved by corneal refractive surgery.

METHODS: Fifty-seven patients presenting with myopic anisometropia > or = 3.25 diopters (D) and 174 myopic controls appropriate for refractive surgery were included. Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) or LASIK was performed on 57 anisometropic eyes. As 43 of the 174 myopic control patients had bilateral surgery, PRK or LASIK was performed on 217 myopic control eyes. Best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), refraction, and refractive correction were measured preoperatively and at 1, 3, 5 to 7, 8 to 13, and 25 months following surgery.

RESULTS: Preoperative mean spherical equivalent was -7.20 +/- 2.40 D for anisometropic patients and -6.40 +/- 1.90 D for myopic patients. At 8 to 13 months postoperatively, when 23 (40%) anisometropic eyes and 94 (43%) myopic eyes were examined, the mean spherical equivalent refractions were -0.80 +/- 1.60 D and -0.30 +/- 0.60 D, respectively. Preoperatively, the mean BSCVA on a logMAR scale was -0.0143 +/- 0.0572 (Snellen 0.98 +/- 0.12) in the anisometropic group and 0.0136 +/- 0.0361 (Snellen 1.04 +/- 0.09) in the control group (P = .001). Eight to 13 months postoperatively, these values were 0.0076 +/- 0.0659 (Snellen 1.03 +/- 0.15) and 0.0495 +/- 0.0692 (Snellen 1.13 +/- 0.18) and this difference remained statistically significant (P = .012). For the myopic patients, the improvement in BSCVA reached almost maximum at 3 months, and this improvement was found to be highly significant 3 months after surgery (P = .001). The improvement in BSCVA was significantly slower for anisometropic patients and became statistically significant only after 8 to 13 months postoperatively (P = .041).

CONCLUSIONS: Anisometropia reduces visual acuity in the more myopic eye and can be at least partially reversed by refractive correction. The slower improvement in BSCVA for anisometropic patients suggests plastic changes in the visual cortex following refractive surgery.