SEP 04, 2008
By Jack A. Singer, MD
Cataract/Anterior Segment, Refractive Mgmt/Intervention
This literature review of cataract development after phakic intraocular lens (pIOL) implantation in 6338 eyes found that cataract formation was more likely after implantation with posterior chamber (PC) pIOLs than other pIOLs. Cataract incidence was 1.29 percent among patients implanted with anterior chamber pIOLs, 1.11 percent with iris-fixated pIOLs, and 9.60 percent with posterior chamber (PC) pIOLs. Among PC pIOL patients, early cataract formation was related to surgical trauma and late-onset cataract formation to IOL-crystalline lens contact.
The incidence of cataract formation was 25.66 percent with the Chiron-Adatomed PC pIOL and 8.48 percent with Staar Collamer PC pIOLs (Staar Surgical Co., Monrovia, Calif.). The article did not break down cataract formation incidence between the various Staar ICL versions.
The Staar V4 implantable collamer lens (ICL), which is currently being sold, was reported in a previous study to have a lower incidence of late-onset anterior subcapsular cataract formation than the no longer available Staar V3 ICL (0.6 percent versus 9.2 percent). These results are presumably due to the smaller posterior radius of the V4's curvature, which produces better vaulting and less contact with the crystalline lens.
Financial Disclosures
Dr. Singer is a consultant to Bausch and Lomb.