Surgical monovision and monovision reversal in LASIK

This study was designed to assess the success of surgical monovision in presbyopic patients.

A university refractive surgery center retrospective chart review of 82 patients who elected to undergo surgical monovision with laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) between January 2000 and January 2003 was conducted. Specific factors included for analysis included preoperative and postoperative defocus spherical equivalent, whether the patient underwent enhancements, whether the patient underwent a preoperative monovision trial with contact lens, and whether the patient underwent monovision reversal.

Eighty-two patients who underwent LASIK for monovision were analyzed. Mean preoperative spherical equivalent in the distance-corrected eye was -4.07 (standard deviation (SD), 2.49); for the eye corrected for near vision, mean preoperative spherical equivalent was -4.10 (SD, 2.56). Postoperative spherical equivalent in the distance eyes was -0.01 (SD, 0.38) and in the near eyes -1.24 (SD, 0.91). There were 6 enhancements in the near eyes (7%) and 17 enhancements in the distance vision eyes (21%). This difference was statistically significant (P = 0.007). Thirty patients underwent a contact lens trial of monovision before LASIK, and none of those patients elected monovision reversal. There were 52 patients who did not undergo a contact lens monovision trial before LASIK monovision, and 2 of these patients underwent monovision reversal. Monovision success in this population was 97.6%.

Surgical monovision can help presbyopic patients achieve their goal of reduced dependence on spectacles. A trial of monovision contact lenses or spectacles may be important in helping surgeons select patients for successful surgical monovision.