COMPARING THE CELL-POPULATION ON DIFFERENT INTRAOCULAR-LENS MATERIALSIN ONE EYE

We developed a method to evaluate cell adherence to different intraocu lar lens (IOL) materials in one eye in which we coated one half of the anterior surface of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) IOL with poly( dimethyl siloxane), a silicone material. The lenses were implanted in the anterior chamber of rabbit eyes without lens extraction. Postopera tive cellular reaction on the IOL surfaces was studied by specular mic roscopy. The IOLs were fixed in situ, removed from the eyes, and stain ed with hematoxylin-eosin so we could evaluate the cell population on the silicone and PMMA surface. Fewer cells were scattered on the silic one surface than on the PMMA surface. This method excludes surgical ef fects and allows a comparison of various IOL materials in the same eye .