ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To present long-term follow-up of silicone lens implantation. SETTING: Clinique Ophtalmologique, Centre Saint-Victor, Amiens, Cédex, France. METHODS: In this prospective study, we followed 111 eyes consecutively operated on from March 1988 to July 1989. Foldable silicone intraocular lenses (IOLs) were implanted in 107 eyes and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) IOLs in 4 eyes. The eyes with PMMA lenses were excluded from the study. RESULTS: After a follow-up of 3 years (average 20 months), 13.7% of eyes with posterior capsule opacification (PCO) required a neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) laser capsulotomy. In the group with longer follow-up (average 57 months), 40.6% required Nd:YAG capsulotomy. The majority of capsulotomies were performed in the fourth year after surgery. The PCO rate was the same whether the IOL was placed in the sulcus or in the capsular bag (51.5 versus 48.5%). The Nd:YAG treatment caused pitting of the silicone in most cases, with no effect on visual acuity. We did not observe other serious complications such as retinal detachment, endophthalmitis, or silicone discoloration. There was no visual acuity below 20/35. CONCLUSIONS: In this series, the silicone IOLs were compatible with phacoemulsification and did not have a higher rate of complications than has been reported for PMMA IOLs.
