Multi-Site Study of Patient Reported Vision Quality and Dry Eye Following LASIK

To assess patient subjective responses regarding satisfaction of vision, visual disturbances, and dry eye symptoms following WaveLight LASIK surgery for myopia or myopic astigmatism.

This was an ambispective, multicenter, multi-surgeon, single arm, observational study. Subjects were included who had Wavefront Optimized or Phorcidies Planned Contoura LASIK (using the Wavelight EX500 laser) for myopia or myopic astigmatism (targeting bilateral emmetropia) within the last 12 to 15 months. Eligible subjects were identified by retrospective chart review and administered a modified Patient-Reported Outcomes with LASIK (PROWL), Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), and dry eye questionnaires.

A total of 300 subjects completed the study. Postoperatively, all patients were satisfied with their vision, with 95% (285/300) reported being "Completely Satisfied" or "Very Satisfied". In addition, 95% (285/300), 79% (237/300), 78% (234/300), and 70% (210/300) of subjects reported "Never" or "Rarely" experiencing double images, glare, halos, and starbursts, respectively, while 0% (0/300), 2% (6/300), 1% (3/300), and 3% (9/300) of subjects reported that these same visual disturbances were "Extremely" or "Very" bothersome, respectively. Furthermore, 98% (294/300) of patients said they would choose to have the procedure again and 98% (294/300) would recommend it. Mean score on the OSDI questionnaire was 8.7 ± 8.2, with the majority (71%, 213/300) of the subjects being asymptomatic (score < 12). The mean OSDI score was within the range indicative of a normal ocular surface.

The results suggest high patient satisfaction of vision after approximately 12 months following Wavelight LASIK. Visual disturbances were rated low in frequency and in bothersomeness.