Artisan Phakic Intraocular Lens for the Correction of Severe Myopic Astigmatism

Purpose: To determine and evaluate the visual acuity (VA) and refracion of correcting compound severe myopic astigmatism with the Artisan toric intraocular lenses (IOLs) Methods: In this noncontrolled clinical trial, 15 patients with severe astigmatism and at least 2.0 diopters (D) of astigmatism were enrolled. All patients met the inclusion criteria. Artisan toric IOL implantation was recommended to them, while the procedure and its possible complications were discussed. Preoperative examinations included refraction, uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) tests, endothelial cell count (ECC), and anterior chamber depth (ACD) measurement. Results: Mean UCVA was 1.57 logMAR preoperatively, and increased to 0.21 logMAR 18 months after surgery (P<0.001). Mean sphere was -7.84 ±3.1D (range, -3 to -15) preoperatively, and changed to 0.04±0.47 D (range, 0.75 to -1.5) 18 months after surgery (P<0.001). Cylinder error showed a statistically significant change from -3.53±1.32 D (range, -1.5 to -6.5) to -0.90±0.90 D (range, 0 to -4.5) during the same period (P<0.001). Mean ECC was 3257.8 cell/mm2 before surgery, and 2761.7 cell/mm2 18 months later (P<0.001). Mean ACD showed reduction from 3.7±0.23 mm preoperatively to 2.9±0.23 mm after surgery (P<0.001). Conclusion: When laser refractive surgery is not an option, correcting severe myopia and astigmatism with the Artisan toric IOL has acceptable results, but it’s possible complications must be kept in mind.