LASIK correction of vision in adults with unilateral amblyopia.

Purpose: to evaluate the effects of laser refractive surgery in adult patients with mild to moderate amblyopia due to anisometropic myopia.

Methods: a retrospective review of 30 patients (60 eyes) with unilateral amblyopia (corrected distance visual acuity [CDVA] 0.6 or worse) who underwent simultaneous bilateral laser vision correction using the Technolas 217z excimer laser (Bausch & Lomb) was performed. Mean patient age was 31.03 ± 10.05 years (range: 18 to 53 years). Visual outcomes in the amblyopic eye were compared with those in the fellow nonamblyopic control eye of the same patient.

Results: mean preoperative CDVA improved in amblyopic eyes from 0.50 ± 0.13 to 0.57 ± 0.20 postoperatively (average gain of 0.075 ± 0.14; P=.007) and improved from 0.92 ± 0.12 preoperatively to 0.93±0.15 after surgery (mean gain of 0.013 ± 0.14; P=.603) in the fellow nonamblyopic eyes. The safety index was significantly greater in the amblyopic eyes compared with the nonamblyopic fellow eyes (1.15 ± 0.30 vs 1.02 ± 0.15, P=.035), therefore, no difference was noted in efficacy (P=.913). Five of 30 eyes with mild to moderate amblyopia gained 2 to 4 lines of CDVA.

Conclusions: laser refractive surgery for myopic correction was found to be safe and effective in eyes with mild to moderate amblyopia.