Heparin surface modified intraocular lenses--a one-year follow-up of a safety study

PMMA intraocular lenses have been modified by bonding a monolayer of Heparin molecules to the surface. These Heparin surface modified (HSM) IOLs were implanted in the capsular bag after extracapsular cataract extraction. Sixty-six patients were followed for 12 months in an open safety study. No unexpected reactions or severe complications occurred. Eighty-nine per cent of the patients obtained a visual acuity (VA) of 0.5 or more at the 12-month visit. When excluding cases with preoperative pathology only one case (1.5%) had less VA than 0.5. A mild postoperative iritis was seen during the first week after surgery, and in only three cases at a later visit. Cell precipitates were seen in a small number of cases. From this study and from earlier in vitro and in vivo animal studies we draw the conclusion that the Heparin surface modified IOLs are safe for implantation in human eyes.