Scleral fixation of intraocular lenses using Gore-Tex suture: clinical outcomes and safety profile

To report the short-term safety profile and clinical outcomes of scleral fixation of intraocular lenses (IOLs) using Gore-Tex suture.

Retrospective, interventional case series. 85 eyes of 84 patients undergoing ab externo scleral fixation of a Bausch and Lomb Akreos AO60 or Alcon CZ70BD IOL using Gore-Tex suture. Primary outcome measures were change in visual acuity and occurrence of intraoperative and postoperative complications with minimum follow-up of 90 days.

85 eyes of 84 patients were identified. Mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution visual acuity improved from 1.43±0.72 (20/538 Snellen equivalent) preoperatively to 0.64±0.61 (20/87 Snellen equivalent) postoperatively (p<0.001). Mean follow-up was 325 days (median 264 days, range 90-996 days). There were no intraoperative complications noted. Postoperative complications included hypotony in eight patients (9.4%), ocular hypertension in six eyes (7%), vitreous haemorrhage in six eyes (7%), hyphema in two eyes (2%), serous choroidal detachment in two eyes (2%), cystoid macular oedema in two eyes (2%) and corneal oedema in one eye (1%). There were no cases of postoperative endophthalmitis, suture erosion/breakage, retinal detachment, suprachoroidal haemorrhage, uveitis-glaucoma-hyphema syndrome or persistent postoperative inflammation in the follow-up period.

Ab externo scleral fixation of IOLs with Gore-Tex suture was well tolerated in all cases. No suture-related complications were encountered. This procedure led to improvement in visual acuity and was not associated with significant intraoperative or postoperative complications.