Quality of Life After Laser Vision Correction: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Purpose: To analyze patients’ quality of life (QOL) after laser vision correction (LVC) from a worldwide literature review.

Methods: Studies of prospective or cross‐sectional design which evaluated QOL in patients after LVC and compared that to preoperative values or a matched group of emmetropes were included. The Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and ProQuest were searched for relevant articles published until February 2024. The fixed‐ or random‐effects models were used to estimate the weighted mean difference (WMD) for postoperative QOL changes. Meta‐regression was conducted for adjusting the effects of potential confounders.

Results: A total of 11 peer‐reviewed articles (1753 patients) were included in the study. LVC improved QOL of patients at one (SMD = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.60), three (SMD = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.55, 1.50), and six months after surgery (SMD = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.30, 1.11). In meta‐regression analysis, QOL improvement was lower in older patients compared to younger ones (β = −0.06, 95% CI: −0.11, −0.01). Also, no statistically significant difference was noted while comparing QOL in post–laser refractive surgery patients and emmetropes (SMD = −0.44, 95% CI: −0.95, 0.07).

Conclusion: Patients undergoing LVC experience significant improvements in QOL, particularly in younger subjects, and achieve comparable QOL to individuals with emmetropia.