Use of a T-flex toric intraocular lens to correct clinically significant astigmatism

Purpose: To investigate the stability and effectiveness of T-flex toric intraocular lenses (IOLs) for the correction of regular corneal astigmatism during cataract surgery. Methods: From October 2009 to January 2014 we enrolled patients receiving phacoemulsification and T-flex toric IOL implantation in the capsular bag at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital. The uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), corneal astigmatism, refractive astigmatism, and the degree to which the IOL axis deviated from the demanded axis were recorded both before the operation and 6 months postoperatively. Results: We enrolled 24 eyes of 24 consecutive patients in this study. The mean spherical power of the implanted toric IOLs was 17.13±4.21 D (range 6.0-24.0 D) and the mean cylindrical power of the IOLs was 3.0±0.86 D (range 2.0-5.0 D). At the 6-month follow up examination, the refractive astigmatism had improved from 3.21±1.50 D to 0.77±0.47 D (p<0.001) and the spherical equivalence had improved from 4.47±5.43 D to 0.63±0.49 D (p=0.007). The CDVA improved from 0.81±0.45 logMAR to 0.09±0.11 logMAR (p<0.001). The mean improvement from the preoperative CDVA to the postoperative UDVA was 5.3 lines on the Snellen chart. Ninety-two percent of our patients achieved a postoperative UDVA ≥20/40 and 67% achieved a postoperative UDVA ≥20/25. Conclusion: The T-flex toric IOL can effectively reduce visually significant corneal astigmatism and improve uncorrected distance visual acuity during cataract surgery.