Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery
Volume 35, Issue 9 , Pages 1505-1508, September 2009

Functional visual outcomes of cataract surgery in patients with 20/20 or better preoperative visual acuity

From the Department of Ophthalmology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Jules Stein Eye Institute, Los Angeles, California, USA

Received 11 February 2009; received in revised form 29 March 2009; accepted 9 April 2009.

Purpose

To measure the visual outcomes after cataract surgery in patients with 20/20 or better preoperative visual acuity.

Setting

University-based cataract referral practice.

Methods

In this retrospective case review, 2 groups of patients with a corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) of 20/20 or better in both eyes before cataract surgery were identified. Patients in the first group had a cataract in 1 eye and an intraocular lens (IOL) in the other eye. Patients in the second group had cataracts in both eyes. Each patient completed a Visual Function 14 (VF-14) questionnaire before and after cataract surgery. Changes in VF-14 scores were analyzed.

Results

The VF-14 scores improved significantly after cataract surgery in both groups. Patients with cataract in 1 eye and an IOL in the other eye before surgery (n = 28) had a mean improvement of 12.2 in the VF-14 score (P = .029). Patients with cataract in both eyes (n = 31) had a mean improvement of 14.5 in the VF-14 score (P<.0001).

Conclusions

The functional vision of patients with 20/20 or better preoperative CDVA improved significantly after cataract surgery. This finding shows that arbitrary CDVA thresholds of worse than 20/20 cannot always be used to determine who will benefit from cataract surgery.

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 No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.

 Dr. Amesbury is the Klara Spinks Fleming Fellow at the Jules Stein Eye Institute.

 Supported in part by the UCLA Paul J. Vicari endowed research fund at UCLA.

PII: S0886-3350(09)00559-8

doi:10.1016/j.jcrs.2009.04.031

Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery
Volume 35, Issue 9 , Pages 1505-1508, September 2009

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