Operative correction of ocular aberrations to improve visual acuity.
OBJECTIVE
Optical aberrations of the human eye degrade the quality of the retinal image and may, therefore, represent a major limit of visual acuity.


METHODS
In 15 eyes, ocular aberrations were corrected in addition to myopia and astigmatism by means of wavefront-guided laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK).


RESULTS
At 1 month after surgery, a supernormal visual acuity of 20/10 and better was obtained in 4 eyes (27%). The increase in root mean square wavefront error ranged from 0.6 to 2.3 and was significantly correlated with the increase in visual acuity (R2 = 0.79; P = .03).


CONCLUSIONS
Although the correction of aberrations was not yet optimal, these results show that ocular optical aberrations limit visual acuity in humans and supernormal visual acuity can be achieved by operative correction.
Seiler
T
T
Department of Ophthalmology in the University of Zürich, Switzerland.
Mrochen
M
M
Kaemmerer
M
M
D000328:Adult; D001251:Astigmatism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003315:Cornea / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D019781:Corneal Topography; D006801:Humans; D020731:Keratomileusis, Laser In Situ; D009216:Myopia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011379:Prognosis; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology