Implantation of diffractive extended depth-of-focus intraocular lenses in normal tension glaucoma eyes: A case series

PURPOSE: Implantation of presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses (IOLs) has not been advised for glaucomatous eyes because of the risk of decreased contrast sensitivity with progress of glaucoma. Extended depth-of-focus (EDF) IOLs have been reported to provide comparable postoperative visual function and influence on the visual field to monofocal IOLs. METHODS: This case series was a retrospective medical record review of 16 eyes of 10 patients who had normal tension glaucoma (NTG) with no central visual field defects and underwent cataract surgery with implantation of diffractive EDF IOLs. At 3 months postoperatively, distance-corrected visual acuities (DCVAs) at distances of 5, 1, and 0.5 m and photopic contrast sensitivity were examined. Automated perimetry using the 30-2 Swedish interactive threshold algorithm was also performed, and the mean variance (MD) values, mean deviation values at the central four points (central MD), and foveal threshold were recorded. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients (5 men, 5 women) was 66.5 years. Over 80% of eyes obtained DCVAs of 20/20, 20/20, and 20/25 at 5 m, 1 m, and 0.5 m, respectively. Whereas 5 of 16 eyes were categorized as severe by the Hodapp-Parrish-Anderson classification, postoperative contrast sensitivity was within the normal range, except for 4 eyes at 18 cycles per degree. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPORTANCE: In this case series, the postoperative visual functions of NTG patients with EDF IOLs were almost comparable to those of normal eyes with the same IOLs, which demonstrated that the use of EDF IOLs for controlled NTG eyes would be permissible. While careful patient selection and follow-up for NTG progress are important, further investigations are necessary for confirming the safety and exploring the selection criteria.