[Biocompatibility of silicone intraocular lenses].

BACKGROUND

In order to the biocompatibility of silicone intraocular lenses, which is described contradictory in literature, we compared IOLs made of silicone caoutchouc and PMMA-IOLs with regards to the presence of macrophages (i.e. giant cells or spindle-shaped cells) in a prospective, randomized study.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Totally 125 patients were examined 2 months post-operatively with the slitlamp in the refractive zone. The single-piece PMMA-IOLs with an open haptic used in this study had a 6 mm optical zone and a total diameter of 11 mm; the silicone-IOLs were disc-shaped lenses with a total diameter of 9.75 mm and an optical zone of 6 or 5.5 mm, resp.

RESULTS

Giant cells were observed with 16% of PMMA-lenses and 19% of the silicone-lenses. The maximal density of the giant cells on the PMMA-lenses at the median was 3/mm2 compared to 2/mm2 on the silicone IOLs. Small and spindle-shaped cells were found in 54% of the PMMA-IOLs and 46% of the silicone-lenses. The maximal cell density at the median was 10/mm2 with both lens types.

CONCLUSIONS

The differences between the two lens materials are statistically non-significant. Thus, silicone caoutchouc and PMMA possess a comparable biocompatibility when used as material for intraocular lenses.