Effect of partial and full correction of corneal spherical aberration on visual acuity and contrast sensitivity

A 60-year-old white man had cataract surgery with an AcrySof IQ intraocular lens (IOL) implanted in the right eye and a Tecnis IOL implanted in the left eye. The ocular spherical aberration (SA) target for a 6.0 mm pupil was +0.10 microm for the right eye and 0 microm for the left eye. After surgery, the ocular SA in the right eye was significantly higher than that in the left eye (+0.112 microm +/- 0.002 [SD] versus +0.021 +/- 0.003 microm; P<.001). No between-eye difference in the best corrected visual acuity and photopic contrast sensitivity was found. The contrast sensitivity was significantly better in the eye with the AcrySof IQ IOL at 12 and 18 cpd under mesopic conditions. The best contrast sensitivity was achieved in the eye with a residual ocular SA of about +0.10 microm.