SECONDARY CAPSULAR OPACIFICATION IN SULCUS VERSUS CAPSULAR BAG FIXATION OF POSTERIOR CHAMBER LENSES

We present a retrospective study on the incidence of visually impairin g secondary posterior capsule opacification following fixation of an i ntraocular lens implant either in the ciliary sulcus or the capsular b ag. One hundred patients in each group were evaluated 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 y ears following uncomplicated extracapsular cataract extraction. Only i mplants with convex-plane optics and forward angulated haptics were us ed. The incidence of capsular opacification was 20% in eyes with sulcu s fixation as opposed to 14% for those with capsular bag fixation. Thi s difference was statistically not significant. The difference in aver age postoperative interval until development of the secondary cataract (21 months for sulcus, 2.8 months for capsular bag fixation) or the a ge of patients with capsular opacification was statistically not signi ficant either. However, it was noted that of the younger patients, bet ween 40 and 50 years at the time of operation, only those with sulcus fixated implants developed secondary cataracts.