Postoperative inflammation after implantation of the implantable contact lens

PURPOSE: To evaluate postoperative inflammation after implantation of the implantable contact lens (ICL) to treat moderate to high myopia. DESIGN: Noncomparative, prospective case series. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred twenty-five eyes of 293 patients with between 3 and 20 diopters of myopia participating in the United States Food and Drug Administration clinical trial of the ICL for myopia. INTERVENTION: Implantation of the ICL. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical assessments of anterior chamber flare and cellular reaction for up to 3 years after surgery and laser flare-cell meter measurements for up to 2 years after surgery. RESULTS: Clinical flare and cellular reaction was reported as absent in 99.6% to 100% of cases and in no case demonstrated more than trace reaction at all postoperative visits 1 month or more after surgery. In a small subset of the study participants who were tested with the laser flare and cell meter, measurements taken between 3 months and 3 years after surgery were within the normal range. CONCLUSIONS: The implantation of the ICL does not cause a long-term (2-3 years) inflammatory response within the eye.