Related Experiment Videos
Night vision disturbances after corneal refractive surgery
Nancy I Fan-Paul1, Joan Li, Julia Sullivan Miller
1Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 635 West 165th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Survey of Ophthalmology
|December 31, 2002
Summary
Night vision disturbances like glare after refractive surgery are common but often improve within a year. Understanding pupil size and optical zones is key to minimizing these visual side effects.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Optometry
- Vision Science
Background:
- Post-refractive surgery, some patients report "glare," technically a decrease in visual quality due to glare disability, reduced contrast sensitivity, and image degradation.
- These phenomena are collectively termed "night vision disturbances" (NVDs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To define and differentiate vision disturbances after refractive surgery.
- To discuss methods for measuring these disturbances.
- To explore treatment options for disabling glare.
Main Methods:
- Review of definitions, differences, and measurement techniques for post-refractive surgery vision disturbances.
- Analysis of factors influencing NVDs in different refractive procedures (RK, PRK, LASIK).
Main Results:
- A significant increase in NVDs is common immediately after corneal refractive surgery, with most patients showing improvement between 6 months and 1 year.
- Pupil size and optical clear zone (in RK) or ablation diameter (in PRK/LASIK) are critical factors in minimizing NVDs.
- Treatment options for glare are discussed.
Conclusions:
- NVDs after refractive surgery are a growing concern, potentially becoming a public health issue.
- Currently, no gold-standard clinical tests exist for objective measurement of glare disability, contrast sensitivity, or image degradation.
- Standardization of objective measurements is essential for understanding and mitigating post-refractive vision disturbances.