COLOR-VISION IN PATIENTS WITH A SILICONE INTRAOCULAR-LENS

Purpose: To test color vision in eyes with a silicone intraocular lens (IOL) and compare it with that in normal phakic eyes. Setting: Univer sity Eye Clinic of Kuopio, Finland. Methods: Color vision in 33 patien ts from 50 to 69 years old with a silicone IOL was evaluated with the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue test (FM 100) and the Color Vision Meter 71 2 (CVM) anomaloscope. In the FM 100 lest, 37 normal phakic eyes served as controls; 21 were 50 to 59 years old and 16, 60 to 69 years old. I n the CVM, 46 normal phakic eyes served as controls; 21 were 50 to 59 years old and 25, 60 to 69 years old. Nine of the 33 patients had a si licone IOL in one eye and a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) IOL in th e other; the color vision in the two eyes was compared. Results: The F M 100 results showed no significant difference between the silicone IO L and control eyes. In the CVM examination, the blue equation showed a significantly greater shift to the green side (patient sees more blue ) in the silicone IOL group than in the control group. Other CVM resul ts were similar between groups. No significant difference was found in any test between the 9 PMMA IOL eyes and the contralateral silicone I OL eyes. Conclusion: Eyes with a silicone IOL had color discrimination ability similar to that of normal phakic eyes. In the blue color sens itivity test, the silicone IOL eyes had significantly better results. There were no significant differences between eyes with a silicone IOL and contralateral eyes with a PMMA IOL.