title: Effect of neodymium:YAG laser capsulotomy on visual function in patients with posterior capsule opacification and good visual acuity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) laser capsulotomy on the visual function in patients with posterior capsule opacification (PCO) and good visual acuity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Keio University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eyes were evaluated that had previous cataract surgery with a clinical diagnosis of PCO requiring Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy regardless of a good corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) (at least 20/20). The CDVA, 10% low contrast visual acuity (LCVA), wavefront aberrations from the 3rd to 6th order, and retinal straylight were measured before and after Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 16 eyes of 16 patients (10 men, 6 women; mean age 69.5 years ± 9.3 [SD]). The mean CDVA, LCVA, and straylight after Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy improved significantly (P < .05). The root mean square (RMS) of the 3rd Zernike coefficients (S3) and the RMS of the total higher-order aberrations (HOAs) from the 3rd to 6th order decreased significantly after capsulotomy (P < .05). The straylight correlated significantly with the total HOAs (r = 0.727, P = .002) and S3 (r = 0.748, P = .001) before capsulotomy. Subjective symptoms resolved after capsulotomy in all cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neodymium:YAG laser capsulotomy enabled a significant improvement in visual function even in patients with PCO with good visual acuity. Straylight measurements might be useful to determine the indications for Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy when patients report visual disturbances without decreased visual acuity.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Erisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yotsukura
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidemasa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Torii
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saiki
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: fwic7788@mb.infoweb.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuno
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Negishi
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsubota
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D058442:Capsule Opacification / Q000601:surgery*; D057108:Corneal Wavefront Aberration / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D019466:Glare; D006801:Humans; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018918:Phacoemulsification; D064727:Posterior Capsulotomy / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012160:Retina / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000601:surgery; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*