LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP OF 3-PIECE, LOOPED, SILICONE INTRAOCULAR LENSES

Purpose: To present long-term follow-up of silicone lens implantation. Setting: Clinique Ophtalmologique, Centre Saint-Victor, Amiens, Cedex , France.Methods: In this prospective study, we followed 111 eyes cons ecutively operated on from March 1988 to July 1989. Foldable silicone intraocular lenses (IOLs) were implanted in 107 eyes and poly(methyl m ethacrylate) (PMMA) IOLs in 4 eyes. The eyes with PMMA lenses were exc luded from the study. Results: After a follow-up of 3 years (average 2 0 months), 13.7% of eyes with posterior capsule opacification (PCO) re quired a neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) laser capsulotomy. In the group with l onger follow-up (average 57 months), 40.6% required Nd:YAG capsulotomy . The majority of capsulotomies were performed in the fourth year afte r surgery. The PCO rate was the same whether the IOL was placed in the sulcus or in the capsular bag (51.5 versus 48.5%). The Nd:YAG treatme nt caused pitting of the silicone in most cases, with no effect on vis ual acuity. We did not observe other serious complications such as ret inal detachment, endophthalmitis, or silicone discoloration. There was no visual acuity below 20/35. Conclusions: In this series, the silico ne IOLs were compatible with phacoemulsification and did not have a hi gher rate of complications than has been reported for PMMA IOLs.