<H4>PURPOSE</H4>
<P>To investigate patient satisfaction and visual symptoms after
wavefront-guided LASIK.</P>
<H4>METHODS</H4>
<P>A prospective, randomized, double-masked, controlled study comprised 200
eyes of 100 young patients who underwent LASIK for myopia and astigmatism.
Patients were randomly divided into two different treatment groups: standard
ablation using wavefront-optimized profiles (wavefront-optimized group) and
aberration customized aspheric treatment ablation (customized group) using the
WaveLight ALLEGRETTO platform. Patients were asked to complete questionnaires
regarding reasons for surgery, satisfaction, and visual symptoms. Patients were
followed for 6 months.</P>
<H4>RESULTS</H4>
<P>The most frequent motivating factor for surgery was to improve uncorrected
visual acuity (UCVA) in the wavefront-optimized and customized groups (both
100%), followed by freedom from spectacles (86.9% vs 96.3%). At 6 months
postoperatively, over 95% of patients in both groups reported their UCVA was as
good as anticipated and they were satisfied with the surgery and would
recommend the operation to a friend or family member. Satisfaction was not
correlated with age, attempted refractive error, residual refractive error,
postoperative UCVA, or root-mean-square higher order aberration. The rate of
postoperative overall visual symptoms was reduced and the mean analog scores of
the symptoms in both groups did not change significantly postoperatively
(<I>P</I>>.05). The rate of visual symptoms such as glare (8.7% vs 7.4%),
halo (0% vs 7.4%), and night driving difficulty (8.7% vs 3.7%) decreased after
LASIK at 6 months postoperatively in the wavefront-optimized and customized
groups, respectively. </P>
<H4>CONCLUSIONS</H4>
<P>Patient satisfaction was achieved in young myopic patients who underwent
wavefront-guided and standard (“wavefront-optimized”) LASIK. The rate
of visual symptoms such as glare, halo, and night driving difficulty decreased
postoperatively after both treatment protocols. [<CITE>J Refract Surg.</CITE>
2008;24:477-486.]</P>
<H4>ABOUT THE AUTHORS</H4>
<P>From the Department of Ophthalmology, First People’s Hospital, Shanghai
Jiaotong University, Shanghai (Yu, Wang); and the Department of Ophthalmology,
Affiliated Hospital, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu (Chen), China.</P>
<P>The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in the materials
presented herein.</P>
<P>Correspondence: Fang Wang, MD, Dept of Ophthalmology, First People’s
Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 85 Wujin Rd, Shanghai, P.R.C, 200080.
Tel: 86 21 5642 5915; Fax: 86 21 3301 1075; E-mail:
<A HREF="mailto:milwang_122@msn.com">milwang_122@msn.com</A></P>
<P>Received: November 2, 2006</P>
<P>Accepted: March 25, 2008</P>