Canadian Opinions on Refractive Surgery and Approaches to Presbyopia Correction

To explore the opinions of Canadian ophthalmologists on refractive and presbyopia-correcting surgeries.

We distributed an online survey to the Canadian Ophthalmological Society members, covering laser refractive surgery (LRS), femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS), lenticular refractive surgery (lenRS) that includes cataract refractive surgery (CRS) with premium intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, and presbyopia correction.

There were 68 (7.6%) total respondents. Most respondents would not consider LRS (62.5%) nor FLACS (73.9%) for themselves. Male sex and performance of LRS or FLACS was significantly associated with consideration of these procedures for self. Most respondents (59.3%) would consider lenRS for themselves. The top method of personal presbyopia correction was spectacles, chosen by 52.5%.

When surveying the wide body of Canadian ophthalmologists, most respondents preferred spectacle correction of presbyopia and would consider lenRS, but not LRS or FLACS for themselves. Surgeons performing these procedures were more likely to consider them for self.