Reading performance after implantation of a small-aperture corneal inlay for the surgical correction of presbyopia: Two-year follow-up.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the change in reading-performance parameters after implantation of the Kamra small-aperture intracorneal inlay over a 2-year follow-up.

SETTING

University Eye Clinic, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.

DESIGN

Cohort study.

METHODS

This study comprised naturally emmetropic presbyopic patients. Bilateral reading acuity, reading distance, reading speed, and the smallest log-scaled sentence were evaluated in a standardized testing procedure using the Salzburg Reading Desk. The minimum postoperative follow-up was 24 months.

RESULTS

The study enrolled 32 patients. The reading desk results showed a significant improvement in each parameter tested. After a mean follow-up of 24.2 months ± 0.8 (SD), the mean reading distance changed from the preoperative value of 48.1 ± 5.5 cm to 38.9 ± 6.3 cm (P < .0001), the mean reading acuity at best distance improved from 0.3 ± 0.14 logRAD to 0.24 ± 0.11 logRAD (P < .000001), and the mean reading speed increased from 142 ± 13 words per minute (wpm) to 149 ± 17 wpm (P=.029). One patient lost 1 line, and 1 patient had no change. The improvement was up to 6 log-scaled lines (mean improvement 2.7 ± 1.6 lines) in the other 30 patients.

CONCLUSIONS

After implantation of the small-aperture intracorneal inlay, there was an improvement in all tested reading performance parameters in emmetropic presbyopic patients; the improvement was the result of an increased depth of field. These 2-year results indicate that the inlay is an effective treatment for presbyopia.