Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Opacification of Hydorphilic Acrylic Intraocular Lens after Cataract Surgery

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To report the clinical characteristics of patients with opacification of intraocular lens (IOL) after cataract surgery with hydrophilic acrylic IOL. METHODS: Retrospective evaluation was performed for 102 eyes of 74 patients who had undergone cataract extraction, with insertion of hydrophilic acrylic IOL (ACRL-C160). The medical records of 91 eyes of 69 patients who were followed up for more than 6 months were reviewed retrospectively. The clinical characteristics of the patients with IOL opacification were analyzed, and the characteristics were compared between the groups of patients with and without IOL opacification. RESULTS: In 70 eyes of 52 patients IOL opacification developed. The incidence was 19.8% at 6 months, 52.3% at 1 year, and 84.1% at 2 years after cataract surgery. The onset of IOL opacification ranged from 2 to 25 months (11.1 months on average). The incidence of IOL opacification was not affected by systemic disease such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension. In the group of patients with IOL opacification, the onset of IOL opacification occured earlier than in the patient group with diabetes mellitus and it also developed earlier in patients with longer duration of diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy. IOL opacification was more severe in patients with retinopathy than in those without diabetic retinopathy. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of hydrophilic acrylic IOL opacification increased over time and had risen to 84.1% of cases at 2 years after surgery. Although patients with generalized disease were not associated with the development of IOL opacification, the presence of diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy affected the onset and severity of IOL opacification.