Posterior capsule opacification 3 years after implantation of an AcrySof and a MemoryLens in fellow eyes

Abstract

To compare the rates of lens epithelial cell (LEC) migration and posterior capsule opacification (PCO) 1 and 3 years after sutureless small incision phacoemulsification and in-the-bag implantation of 2 acrylic polymer intraocular lenses (IOLs)—the AcrySof® and MemoryLens®—in fellow eyes of patients. Eye Clinic, Beyoğlu Education and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey. Fifty patients with no systemic or ocular problems that would interfere with postoperative visual acuity were included in this prospective study. Each patient had in-the-bag implantation of an AcrySof® IOL in 1 eye and a MemoryLens® in the fellow eye in a randomized fashion after uneventful phacoemulsification through a sutureless clear corneal incision. At 1 year (n = 32 patients), there was no significant difference between fellow eyes in postoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and contrast sensitivity. In the MemoryLens group, 10 eyes (31.3%) had PCO and 9 (28.1%), LEC migration. In the AcrySof group, no eye had PCO and 2 eyes (6.3%) had LEC migration (P < .001). At 3 years (n = 21 patients), 1 eye (4.7%) in the AcrySof group had PCO and 3 eyes (14.4%) had LEC migration without PCO. In the MemoryLens group, 1 eye (4.7%) had a clear posterior capsule, 11 eyes (52.4%) had LEC migration, and 9 eyes (42.9%) had PCO (P < .001). A neodymium:YAG capsulotomy was required in 4 eyes (19.0%) in the MemoryLens group but no eye in the AcrySof group. At 3 years, BCVA was lower in the MemoryLens group than in the AcrySof group (P < .05). The 3 year clinical data of fellow eyes indicate that the AcrySof IOL causes less PCO than the MemoryLens.