PURPOSE: To compare the effects of a combined wavefront-guided and aspheric ablation profile with an aspheric ablation profile alone to correct myopia in patients with a preoperative total higher-order aberration root mean square (HOA RMS) lower than 0.30 mu m in both eyes. SETTING: Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. DESIGN: Comparative case series. METHODS: Laser in situ keratomileusis was performed, with 1 eye randomized to wavefront-guided with aspheric ablation and the fellow eye to aspheric ablation only. The uncorrected (UDVA) and corrected (CDVA) distance visual acuities, manifest subjective refraction, corneal topography, RMS value of total and grouped HOAs, and contrast sensitivity were measured preoperatively and 1 and 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: The study enrolled 62 eyes (31 patients). The increasing factors of total HOA RMS, 3rd-order RMS and 4th-order RMS were 2.09, 2.09, and 1.99, respectively, in the wavefront-guided with aspheric ablation group and 2.52, 2.68, and 2.51, respectively, in the aspheric ablation only group at 6 months; the aspheric ablation group had statistically significantly larger increasing factors (P=.016, P=.038, and P=.027, respectively). The reduction in contrast sensitivity log values was statistically significantly less in the wavefront-guided with aspheric ablation group than in the aspheric ablation only group except at 1.5 cycles per degree. CONCLUSION: The wavefront-guided with aspheric ablation profile was associated with better limitation of HOAs and faster recovery of mesopic contrast sensitivity for patients with a preoperative total HOA RMS lower than 0.30 mu M. (C) 2013 ASCRS and ESCRS