To evaluate the clinical results of toric iris-fixated phakic intraocular lens (Artisan^®) implantation for the correction of myopia with astigmatism.

Sixteen eyes of 11 patients underwent toric Artisan^® lens implantation between April 2004 and February 2006 and were followed up for 6 months. We analyzed visual acuity, refraction, change in astigmatism, efficacy, safety, predictability, and complications.

Among 11 patients, 4 were men and 7 were women, with an average age of 30.9 years. The preoperative mean uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) was 0.02, except for 1 eye with post-LASIK astigmatism (0.4); the mean spherical equivalent refraction was -11.06±4.11D; and the mean astigmatism was -2.91± 0.91D. At postoperative 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months, UCVA was more than 0.8 in 31%, 69%, 81% of eyes and more than 0.5 in 94%, 94%, 100% of eyes, respectively. Mean astigmatism decreased to -2.28, -1.37, and -0.73 and the spherical equivalent refraction was within 1.0D in 56%, 81%, 88% of eyes, respectively. For the vector analysis of astigmatic change, a doubled-angle scatterplot revealed that the postoperative 6 month data were located mainly at the center of the plot, which indicated a considerable reduction of astigmatism by magnitude and axis. At postoperative 6 months, the efficacy and safety indices were 99.0% and 114.7%, respectively. Complications included transient elevation of intraocular pressure in 1 eye and nighttime glare or halo in 3 eyes.

Although the patient population was small, six-month clinical results demonstrate that the implantation of the toric Artisan lens was safe, reliable, and effective for correcting high myopia with astigmatism.