Evaluating Refractive and Visual Outcomes After Bilateral Implantation of an Apodized Diffractive Multifocal Toric Intraocular Lens with a Moderate Add in the Dominant Eye and a Higher Add in the Fellow Eye

PURPOSE: To review refractive, visual acuity, defocus curve and subjective visual quality results after bilateral implantation of an apodized diffractive toric intraocular lens (IOL) with a moderate add in the dominant eye and a higher add in the non-dominant eye. SETTING: One site in Gainesville, GA, USA. DESIGN: Single arm, non-randomized prospective study. METHODS: This was a single-arm prospective study of visual acuity and subjective visual quality after implantation of a toric low-add apodized diffractive multifocal IOL in the dominant eye and a higher add IOL of the same type in the non-dominant eye three months after surgery. Binocular visual acuity at 4 m, 60 cm and 40 cm was tested. Other tests included refraction, defocus curve measurement and evaluation of the quality of vision. Toric IOL orientation was also measured. RESULTS: A total of 29 subjects were enrolled. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean keratometry, corneal astigmatism or IOL sphere power implanted in the dominant and non-dominant eyes. Vision was preferred without any correction in more than half of the eyes tested (32/58, 55%). The residual refractive astigmatism was ≤ 0.50 D in 100% of eyes. Seventy-five percent of subjects (22/29) had 0.10 logMAR (20/25 Snellen) binocular uncorrected visual acuity at all tested distances. Glare and haloes were the most common visual disturbances, but most subjects (22/29, 76%) reported that they were not bothered by any visual disturbances. In 97% of eyes (56/58), the measured difference in orientation between 1 month and 3 months was less than 5 degrees, with no change more than 14 degrees. CONCLUSION: This blended bifocal IOL modality appears to be well-tolerated by subjects with a good range of vision and minimal bother from visual disturbances.