Purpose: To describe a digital overlay technique for documenting toric intr
aocular lens (IOL) axis alignment.
Setting: Jules Stein Eye Institute and the Department of Ophthalmology, Uni
versity of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, Calif
ornia, USA.
Methods: Digital overlay imaging was used to evaluate the alignment of Staa
r toric IOLs in 4 eyes of 3 patients who had regular corneal astigmatism at
the time of cataract surgery. Lens axes were determined by computerized an
alysis of digitally scanned retroillumination photographs. A stock digital
image of a Staar AA4203TF toric IOL was super-imposed on corneal topography
images to document IOL alignment with the steep corneal meridian.
Results: Digital overlay images demonstrated that 3 IOLs in the sample grou
p were within 5 degrees and 1 was within 20 degrees of the intended axis at
the time of the final postoperative examination. Slitlamp lens axis estima
tions were 3 to 18 degrees different from that determined by this technique
.
Conclusion: Digital overlay imaging of correctly oriented toric IOLs on com
puterized corneal topography maps represents an intuitive, accurate, and vi
sually appealing method of documenting toric IOL axis alignment. J Cataract
Refract Surg 2000; 26:1496-1504 (C) 2000 ASCRS and ESCRS.