Spectral transmittance of intraocular lenses and retinal damage from intense light sources.

I measured the spectral transmittance of clear polymethylmethacrylate intraocular lenses in the 300- to 700-nm range. The near-ultraviolet transmittance of the polymethylmethacrylate lens was significantly greater than that of the crystalline lens. Therefore, the pseudophakic eye is more susceptible to retinal damage from intense near-ultraviolet light sources than the normal eye. Retinal thermal response of the pseudophakic eye was compared with that of the normal eye for near-ultraviolet radiation, and retinal thermal response to near-ultraviolet radiation was compared with that to visible light for the pseudophakic eye. Additionally, because there was no significant difference between polymethylmethacrylate and crystalline lens in visible and near-infrared transmittance, thresholds for thermal retinal damage at a given wavelength are similar for the pseudophakic and the intact eye in these spectral regions.