Posterior chamber lens implantation and anterior segment barrier function: a fluorophotometric study

We used fluorophotometry and pachymetry to examine the early postoperative effects on the anterior segment of the eye after posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation combined with extracapsular cataract extraction as compared to extra-capsular cataract extraction alone. Fluorophotometry was performed by a method of intravenous injection of fluorescein solution (1 mg/kg of body weight) on the 6th postoperative day. We calculated the value of the Fa/Fp ratio, where Fa and Fp were fluorescein concentration in the aqueous and the plasma ultrafiltrate, respectively, and treated it as an index of the blood-aqueous barrier function. Also, we optically measured the corneal thickness and the anterior chamber depth. There were no significant differences between the values of the Fa/Fp ratio and corneal thickness in the two groups. The anterior chamber depth in the pseudophakic eyes (2.89 +/- 0.48 mm, mean +/- SD) differed significantly from that of the eyes undergoing extracapsular cataract extraction alone (3.10 +/- 0.51, P less than 0.001). In the cases of posterior chamber lens implantation, the postoperative value of the Fa/Fp ratio in the intact fellow eyes showed a significant increase compared to the preoperative value in the same eyes (1.2 +/- 0.8 times, P less than 0.05). We conclude that the effects on the anterior segment barrier function of extracapsular lens extraction followed by posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation are not significantly different from those of extracapsular lens extraction alone.