Changes in higher-order aberrations after iris-fixated phakic intraocular lens implantation

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Optics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Phakic intraocular lenses (PIOLs) correct refractive errors but can induce higher-order aberrations (HOAs).
• Understanding surgically induced HOAs is crucial for optimizing visual quality after PIOL implantation.
• Comparing different PIOL designs, such as those with varying pupillary diameters, is essential for patient selection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate surgically induced changes in corneal, internal, and ocular HOAs after PIOL implantation.
• To compare these HOAs between two PIOLs with different pupillary diameters: Artisan and Artiflex.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective evaluation of 23 eyes with Artisan PIOLs and 30 eyes with Artiflex PIOLs.
• Corneal, internal, and ocular HOAs were recorded preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively.
• Analysis of Zernike coefficients to quantify HOAs, including spherical aberrations (Z4(0)).

Main Results:

• Both PIOLs effectively corrected myopia, with mean spherical equivalents near zero postoperatively.
• Artiflex PIOL resulted in significantly lower internal and ocular spherical aberrations (Z4(0)) than Artisan PIOL at 4-mm and 5-mm pupillary diameters.
• No significant differences in HOAs were observed between the groups at a 6-mm pupillary diameter; both showed positive spherical aberration values.

Conclusions:

• Postoperative ocular spherical aberrations were positive following both Artisan and Artiflex PIOL implantation.
• The Artisan PIOL may induce greater ocular spherical aberrations than the Artiflex PIOL, potentially due to differences in their optical designs.
• Pupillary diameter influences the magnitude of induced spherical aberrations, with smaller diameters showing greater differences between PIOL types.