Improvement in best corrected visual acuity in amblyopic adult eyes after laser in situ keratomileusis

Abstract

To evaluate improvement in best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in adult patients with amblyopia. Refractive Eye Surgery Center, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The charts of consecutive patients with a diagnosis of amblyopia at the time of refractive evaluation who had LASIK were reviewed retrospectively. The preoperative and postoperative uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and BSCVA were analyzed. Twenty-one eyes of 19 patients were identified as having amblyopia and LASIK surgery. Eight patients (42.1%) were diagnosed with amblyopia only, 6 patients (31.6%) had anisometropic amblyopia, 4 patients (21.1%) had strabismic amblyopia, and 1 patient (5.2%) had anisometropic and strabismic amblyopia. Eleven eyes (52.4%) had myopic astigmatism, 7 eyes (33.3%) were hyperopic, and 3 eyes (14.3%) had mixed astigmatism. Seven eyes (33.3 %) experienced more than a 1-line improvement in postoperative UCVA compared with the preoperative BSCVA. Nine eyes (42.8%) experienced more than a 1-line improvement in postoperative BSCVA compared with the preoperative BSCVA. The BSCVA was unchanged in 11 eyes (52.4%) and was worse by 2 lines in 1 eye (4.8%). After LASIK, the postoperative BSCVA was better than preoperatively in 42.8% of eyes with a history of amblyopia and the postoperative UCVA was better than the preoperative BSCVA in 33.3%.