Post-Refractive Surgery Glare Improves With Time Following Lenticule Extraction 

Post-refractive surgery glare improves between 1 and 6 months in the case of laser assisted lenticule extraction (LALEX) for myopia, according to a prospective study published in the Journal of Refractive Surgery. Less post-refractive surgery glare is associated with better uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), while more obvious glare is associated with greater residual astigmatism and sphere, according to the report.   

The prospective study included 60 eyes from 30 patients (mean age, 24.90 years; age range: 18-35 years; 25 women, 5 men) with myopia and myopic astigmatism who underwent SMILE between May 2021 and July 2021 at the Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat (Eye & ENT) Hospital of Fudan University. 

Corneal topography, pupillometry, and glare test measurements were performed preoperatively and postoperatively. All participants were followed up with for 6 months. The research team used generalized estimation equation to judge the determinants of glare following SMILE, and a P value less than .05 was statistically significant.

No significant changes were identified in postoperative glare compared with preoperative, but post-refractive surgery glare at 6 months was statistically significantly improved compared with the values at 1 month (both P <.05). 

Under mesopic conditions, factors associated with post-refractive surgery glare were sphere (P =.007), astigmatism (P =.032), UDVA (P <.001), and postoperative time (all P <.05). Under photopic conditions, factors associated with glare were astigmatism, UDVA, and postoperative time (all P <.05).

“This study found that refraction status (sphere and astigmatism) affected the postoperative glare (ie, the higher the degree of residual refraction, the more obvious the postoperative glare),” according to the researchers. “This suggests that attention should be paid to the accuracy of refraction in preoperative cycloplegic refraction, the correction of astigmatism in surgical design, improving the surgical skills of centration, or developing centration techniques to obtain better postoperative visual quality.”

This study was limited by its small sample size. 

Disclosure: This research was supported by multiple sources. Please see the original reference for a full list of disclosures.