Trends in Secondary Intraocular Lens Surgery among Vitreoretinal Surgeons

To identify changes in secondary lens techniques over time and to determine common complications of each technique.

Retrospective cohort study.

All patients in the database from January 2015 to December 2021 who underwent secondary lens placement (anterior chamber intraocular lens [IOL, ACIOL], scleral-fixated IOL [SFIOL], or scleral-sutured IOL [SSIOL]).

Rates of secondary IOL surgery techniques were analyzed in 3597 participants in a nationwide aggregated electronic health care database using 2-sample independent t tests. Rates of postoperative rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) after secondary IOL surgery were assessed using chi-square test of proportion. Postoperative visual acuity (VA) was assessed using 2-sample independent t tests.

The primary outcome was change in IOL technique over time. Secondary data points examined were the development of postoperative RRD after secondary IOL surgery, VA changes, the development of endophthalmitis, suture erosion, haptic erosion, or corneal edema after IOL surgery.

Anterior chamber IOL use decreased over the 7-year period from 93% of cases to 36% of cases (P < 0.0001), while SFIOL use increased from 3% to 34% (P < 0.0001) and SSIOL use increased from 4% to 30% (P < 0.0001). Visual acuity increased for each surgical technique (ACIOL: 44.1 vs. 49.2 ETDRS letters, P < 0.001; SFIOL: 48.7 vs. 57.6 letters, P < 0.001; SSIOL: 51.5 vs. 61.2 letters, P < 0.001), with larger VA gains seen in SFIOL and SSIOL use (ACIOL vs. SFIOL, P = 0.004; ACIOL vs. SSIOL, P = 0.002; SFIOL vs. SSIOL, P = 0.64). Average RRD rates did not significantly differ between techniques. Rates of endophthalmitis, haptic erosion, and suture erosion were low and did not significantly differ between techniques. Rates of corneal edema were significantly higher in ACIOL cases (vs. SFIOL, P < 0.0001; vs. SSIOL, P < 0.0001).

Rates of ACIOL implantation performed by vitreoretinal surgeons have decreased over time with more vitreoretinal surgeons electing to place either an SFIOL or SSIOL toward the end of the study period; complication profiles among the 3 techniques may be similar.

Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.