Symmetry of refractive and visual acuity outcome in the Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) study

In the Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) study, the symmetry of refractive and visual acuity outcome was analyzed in 269 patients with bilateral radial keratotomy with a single operation in each eye. Patients were required to wait 1 year after surgery on the first eye before having surgery on the second eye. At 1 year after surgery on the second eye, 98% of patients had 3.00 diopters or less difference between their two eyes in the spherical equivalent of the cycloplegic refraction (100% before surgery), and 96% of patients had 3.00 D or less difference between their two eyes in the amount of refractive power in the vertical meridian (100% before surgery). Thus, surgically induced refractive anisometropia was not a major complication in the PERK study. However, 14% of patients had four to eight Snellen lines difference in the uncorrected visual acuity between their two eyes (1% before surgery), emphasizing that induced asymmetry of refraction is a potential clinical problem for some patients.