Using the surgical result in the first eye to calculate intraocular lens power for the second eye

This paper examines the possibility of using the surgical result in the first eye when planning the intraocular lens power for the second eye. Two methods were considered: (1) an empirical method by which one regards the second procedure as a repeat of the one in the first eye and calculates the power from the actual refractive error obtained in the first eye and (2) a theoretical method by which one measures the pseudophakic anterior chamber depth (ACD) of the first eye and uses this value to plan for the second eye. Based on the data from 136 second eye procedures using extracapsular cataract extraction, the prediction error of the empirical method ranged from -10.5 to +9.5 diopters. The error of the theoretical method ranged from -2.3 to +2.8 diopters, which was significantly more accurate than the empirical method (P < .001). We conclude that the fellow eye ACD may be used as a guideline for the assumed ACD of the second eye. However, such use of the fellow eye ACD could not be shown to improve power calculation predictions significantly.