[Opacification of a hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lens].

PURPOSE

To report pathological and histochemical analysis of an explanted opacified hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lens.

PATIENTS

and method: A hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lens--Orion IFP3D6--was explanted 2 years after routine phacoemulsification because of its opacification associated with significant visual impairment (20/40). The intraocular lens was examined by gross and light microscopy. Full-thickness cut sections of the lens were stained with 1% alizarin red (a special stain for calcium).

RESULTS

Microscopic analyses revealed the presence of granules of various sizes distributed in a line parallel to the anterior and posterior curvatures of the lens. The granules stained positively for alizarin red.

CONCLUSION

Such opacification has been described with the SC60B-OUV, MDR Inc., which is also a one-piece foldable-design intraocular lens (28% hydrophilic material). The opacification of the intraocular lens occurred over various periods after surgery. Forty percent of these lenses have been explanted. Microscopic and histochemical evaluation of these intraocular lenses revealed the same type of granulation deposits within the lenses. The origin and mechanism of the opacification are still not fully understood.