Use of Verisyse/Artisan phakic intraocular lens for the reduction of myopia in a patient with pellucid marginal degeneration

PURPOSE: To describe a patient who underwent implantation of a Verisyse/Artisan iris-fixated phakic intraocular lens (IOL) for correction of high myopia in pellucid marginal degeneration (PMD). METHODS: A patient with PMD was observed during a period of 7 years after the implantation of a Verisyse/Artisan phakic IOL. At each visit, slit-lamp evaluation was performed, and corneal topography, endothelial cell count, manifest refraction, and uncorrected and best-corrected visual acuity were determined. RESULTS: Verisyse/Artisan phakic IOL implantation was performed for the correction of the patient's high myopia in the presence of early-stage PMD. The preoperative refraction of the right eye was -13.0 -3.0 x 90 degrees. The postoperative spherical equivalent (SE) was +0.50 D after 1 year and +0.50 D after 7 years. The preoperative refraction of the left eye was -13.0 -1.25 x 55 degrees. The postoperative SE was -0.38 D after 1 year and -0.13 D after 7 years. Preoperative topographic astigmatism for the right and left eye was 2.94 and 0.81 D, respectively. Seven years later, topographic astigmatism for the right and left eye had changed to 4.45 and 0.71 D, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This case shows that the implantation of a Verisyse/Artisan phakic IOL may be effective in the treatment of refractive error in PMD. This case discusses the value of a removable (as opposed to a permanent) solution, such as the Verisyse/Artisan phakic IOL device, in the treatment of refractive error in PMD.