Intermediate visual acuity without spectacles following bilateral ReSTOR implantation

Purpose This survey determined uncorrected visual acuity (VA) at near, intermediate, and far distances in cataract patients implanted with ReSTOR®, and assessed patient satisfaction. Methods Consecutive cataract patients implanted bilaterally with ReSTOR® were followed up at least 4 months. The Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study scale was used to measure VA for near (40 cm), intermediate (50, 60, and 70 cm), and distance vision, with VAs expressed in logMAR and adjusted for distance using Bennett's (1993) formula. Satisfaction was self-rated on a visual analogue scale ranging from 0 (poor) to 10 (high). Results Twenty-four consecutive patients (mean age 67.6 years) were operated upon by a single surgeon and followed up for a mean of 336.5 days after second eye surgery. Average postoperative VAs for uncorrected distance were 0.06 logMAR and intermediate VAs were 0.21 logMAR at both 50 cm and 60 cm and 0.22 logMAR at 70 cm. These levels of uncorrected intermediate VA would allow patients to read Word® computer text in Times New Roman font 8 zoomed to 100%, at 70 cm from the monitor screen. The authors found that 23/24 patients (96%) no longer wore spectacles. The remaining patient required correction for astigmatism as this refraction error is not yet correctable by ReSTOR®. Average self-rated satisfaction was 8.54. Conclusions In an everyday surgical practice, none of the studied bilateral ReSTOR® cataract patients without astigmatism required spectacles when followed up 6 months or later. Intermediate VA was compatible with reading and led to high patient satisfaction.