A prospective study of intraocular pressure four months after extracapsular cataract extraction with implantation of posterior chamber lenses.

Sixty-six consecutive cases of extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) and sulcus implantation of a posterior chamber lens had intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements recorded four months postoperatively. These results were compared to the fellow unoperated eyes, as well as to a group of 64 patients, whom we reported previously, who had intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE) and implantation of an anterior chamber lens. The ECCE and posterior chamber lens group demonstrated a significant reduction in the IOP of the operated eye after four months (P less than 0.001), with none of the patients having an IOP greater than 20 mm Hg. No significant IOP change could be demonstrated in the fellow eye (0.1 less than P less than 0.2). We found a significant difference between the ECCE and ICCE groups in the IOP of the operated eye (P less than 0.001).