Reading performance and patient satisfaction after corneal inlay implantation for presbyopia correction: Two-year follow-up

PURPOSE: To evaluate change in reading performance parameters after monocular Kamra corneal inlay implantation for the surgical correction of presbyopia. SETTING: University surgical outpatient center. DESIGN: Prospective interventional case series. METHODS: A corneal inlay was implanted in the nondominant eye. Naturally emmetropic and presbyopic patients between 45 years and 60 years old with an uncorrected distance visual acuity of at least 20/20 in both eyes without additional ocular pathology were eligible for inclusion. Bilateral uncorrected reading acuity, reading distance, mean and maximum reading speed, and the smallest log-scaled print size (lower case letter of a Radner reading chart) were evaluated using the Salzburg Reading Desk. The minimum postoperative follow-up was 24 months. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients were enrolled. The mean reading distance was 46.7 cm G 6.3 (SD) preoperatively and 39.5 G 6.4 cm 24 months postoperatively (P<.001). The mean reading acuity at best distance improved (0.33 G 0.13 logRAD versus 0.23 G 0.11 logRAD) (PZ.004). The mean reading speed increased from 141 G 20 words per minute (wpm) to 146 G 20 wpm, respectively (PZ.261), and the mean maximum reading speed from 171 G 28 wpm to 180 G 22 wpm, respectively (PZ.110). The smallest print size improved from 1.50 G 0.42 mm to 1.01 G 0.22 mm, respectively (P<.001). CONCLUSION: Improving the depth of focus by monocular implantation of a small-aperture optic caused statistically significant changes in all tested reading performance parameters except reading speed metrics in emmetropic presbyopic patients.