Near Point of Accommodation and Convergence after Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) for Myopia.

PURPOSE: Near point of convergence (NPC) and near point of accommodation (NPA) were evaluated before and after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in normal myopic eyes.

METHODS: In this prospective cross sectional study, NPC and NPA were measured in 120 myopic eyes (60 patients) before and 3 months after PRK. Excluding criteria were manifest tropia, previous eye surgery, amblyopia, and any other ocular pathology. All subjects were younger than35 years old.

RESULTS: Fifty-one females (85%) and nine males (15%) participated in the study. The average age of the participants was 25.75 years. Before the operation, the average NPC and NPA were 4.35 cm and 6.9 cm (14.5 D), respectively. NPC and NPA increased significantly 5.63 (p = 0.025) and (p 0.05) to 7.983 cm (12.5 D) (p 0.001), respectively, after 3 months.

CONCLUSION: NPC and NPA may increase significantly after PRK. Convergence and accommodation problems may affect near visual performance. Therefore, for any PRK candidate, accommodation and convergence should be evaluated.