BLOOD-AQUEOUS BARRIER FOLLOW CATARACT-SUR GERY - COMPARISON OF INTRACAPSULAR IMPLANTATION AND SULCUS IMPLANTATION OF AN INTRAOCULAR-LENS

Intracapsular implantation of an intraocular lens (IOL) after cataract extraction is considered to be more ''physiologic'' than sulcus impla ntation. Using a laser flare-cell meter, we measured the degree of ant erior segment inflammation in 24 eyes with an IOL implanted in the sul cus and 14 eyes with an IOL implanted ''in the bag.'' All patients wer e followed for 1 year. The mean flare value was significantly lower in the bag-implanted eyes than in the sulcus-implanted eyes 1 day (p = 0 .009) and 3 days (p = 0.012) after surgery; no significant difference in degree of flare was found between the groups after that time. At 1 year the sulcus-implanted group was found to have slightly higher flar e values than a control group of 34 unoperated patients matched for ag e. Although this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.012), it should not be considered clinically relevant.