CORRELATION BETWEEN INTRAOCULAR-LENS HYDROPHILICITY AND ANTERIOR CAPSULE OPACIFICATION AND AQUEOUS FLARE

Purpose: To study the correlation between a basic parameter of intraoc ular lens biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, and two clinical parameter s, postoperative inflammation and anterior capsule opacification. Sett ing: Miyake Eye Hospital, Nagoya, Japan. Methods: Three combinations o f IOLs that were identical in shape but had distinct contact angles of water were used in this prospective double-masked study: (1) experime ntal comparison of collagen type IV and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMM A) IOLs in rabbit eyes; (2) clinical comparison of heparin-surface-mod ified and PMMA IOLs; (3) clinical comparison of three foldable IOLs, s ilicone, acrylic, and memory. One of the two IOLs being compared in ea ch situation was randomly assigned to both eyes of each animal or pati ent. At 1 and 3 months postoperatively, the degree of anterior capsule opacification and the amount of flare in the anterior chamber were de termined. Results: In all three comparative situations, greater postop erative inflammation and more rapid anterior capsule opacification was seen in the eyes with hydrophobic IOLs, Conclusion: There was a corre lation between the hydrophilicity of an IOL and the severity of postop erative inflammation and the speed of anterior capsule opacification.