Optical coherence tomography of intraocular lens implants and their relationship to the posterior capsule: a pilot study comparing a hydrophobic acrylic to a plate-haptic silicone type

BACKGROUND: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been used to examine the anterior as well as the posterior segment and can be used to examine the intraocular lens (IOL) and their relationship to the posterior capsule in vivo. OBJECTIVES: To use OCT to examine two of the IOLs and some of the features related to the development of posterior capsular opacification (PCO). METHODS: This is a pilot study of a prospective (n = 12) and a retrospective (n = 14) series of patients who had uneventful phacoemulsification and IOL implantation of either hydrophobic acrylic (Acrysof; Alcon) or plate-haptic (PH) silicone (C11UB; Chiron, Bausch & Lomb) IOLs. The outcome of interest was the ability of OCT to clearly delineate the outline of the IOL optics and their appositional relationship to the posterior capsule. RESULTS: OCT showed that hydrophobic acrylic IOLs had a better defined outline than PH silicone IOLs. It also showed close apposition between hydrophobic acrylic optics and the mid-peripheral part of the posterior capsule and the absence thereof with PH silicone IOLs. CONCLUSIONS: Hydrophobic acrylic implants have better definition on the OCT scans than PH silicone and they develop close apposition to the posterior capsule. The latter feature is consistent with the 'no space, no cell, no PCO' concept and what is known about the effect of the implant material and design on the rate of PCO.