An analysis of intraocular lens exchange

We present an analysis of 101 eyes of 98 consecutive patients who underwent intraocular lens (IOL) exchange. The period of follow up ranged from 6 to 71 months (mean, 23 months). Bullous keratopathy was the leading (86.7%) indication for IOL exchange in 45 eyes that had combined penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) and IOL exchange (PKP group). Lens dislocation (36%) and incorrect power (25%) were the most frequent indications for IOL exchange without PKP (56 eyes) (NPKP group). A final visual acuity of 20/40 or better was achieved in 50.5% of the 101 eyes, with 88% having two lines of improvement or remaining within one line of the pre-exchange acuity. The geometric mean visual acuity was significantly improved, from 20/273 preoperatively to 20/125 postoperatively, in the PKP group (P less than .001), and from 20/61 to 20/43 in the NPKP group (P = .001). The main reason for vision less than 20/200 in the 23 eyes in the PKP group was glaucoma (nine eyes) and bullous keratopathy (eight eyes). In the NPKP group, seven eyes (four due to cystoid macular edema, CME) had a visual acuity less than 20/200. Posterior chamber (PC) IOL implantation was associated with significantly better visual acuity than anterior chamber (AC) IOL implantation when performed at IOL exchange (P = .004). The most common complications encountered with IOL exchange were CME (17.8%), hyphema (15.8%), glaucoma (10.9%) and PC opacity (8.9%).