Differences between objective and subjective refractions after radial keratotomy

Background In patients who are free of pathology, automatic refractions have shown close agreement with the subjective refractions. Clinical experience indicated that the normally strong relationship between objective and subjective refraction is significantly weakened as a result of radial keratotomy. Methods Seventy-two patients were refracted before and after surgery, objectively with a Humphrey Model #510 autorefractor and subjectively using a binocular refraction procedure without cycloplegia. All patients were free of ocular disease and had preoperative myopia ranging from -1.00 to -9.00 diopters as determined by the subjective spherical equivalent. Results The results indicated that the preoperative difference between the mean spherical automatic and subjective refractions was a clinically acceptable 0.25 diopter. However, postoperatively, there was a statistically significant difference of 1.25 D with the automatic refractor determining more myopic refractions. Subsequent analysis revealed that the age of the patient had a direct bearing on this finding with patients less than 40 years of age showing more minus in the automatic refraction than patients 40 years and older. Conclusions The postoperative discrepancy between the two refractions may be explained by induced optical aberrations and may contribute towards the visual fluctuations experienced by radial keratotomy patients. It is postulated that the inconsistency in refractive determination is due to optical distortion since the age dependence of this effect may be related to the reduction of pupil size that occurs with aging. In the radial keratotomy patient, the practitioner is faced with a more complex and uncertain refraction that may vary according to refractive procedures used and other factors such as pupil size.