Rotational stability and posterior capsule opacification of a plate-haptic and an open-loop-haptic intraocular lens

To compare the rotational stability and posterior capsule opacification (PCO) rate in eyes with a 1-piece or 3-piece acrylic intraocular lens (IOL).

Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Prospective randomized masked clinical trial.

Patients with age-related cataract received a plate-haptic acrylic IOL (Acri.Smart 46S) in 1 eye and a 3-piece loop-haptic acrylic IOL (Acri.Lyc 53N) in the other eye. Retroillumination images were taken 1 hour, 1 week, and 1, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Intraocular lens rotation was measured using standard software (Adobe Photoshop). The amount of PCO was assessed subjectively at the slitlamp and objectively using an automated image-analysis software (AQUA).

The study enrolled 80 eyes of 40 patients. The IOL rotation measurements showed excellent reproducibility, with a deviation of less than 0.8 degrees. Both IOLs had comparable and good rotational stability; rotation was less than 4 degrees in 71% of eyes 1 year postoperatively. The mean absolute rotation was 2.6 degrees ± 1.9 (SD) in the plate-haptic IOL group and 3.1 ± 2.4 degrees in the loop-haptic IOL group. The mean AQUA PCO score (scale 0 to 10) was 0.4 in both IOL groups (P = .7).

The 2 IOL models had comparable, excellent rotational stability and low PCO intensity 1 year postoperatively. Thus, the plate-haptic IOL may be a good platform for a toric model.