A survey of intraocular lens explantations

A survey of intraocular lens (IOL) explantations performed during the 1984 calendar year requested dates of implantation and explantation, lens manufacturer, and lens style for anterior chamber, posterior chamber, and iris-supported lenses. The survey was distributed to 3,640 members of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and was published in the September 15, 1985, issue of Ocular Surgery News. Information on 1,087 IOL explantations performed during 1984 by approximately 530 surgeons was received. Extrapolation of our survey's responses to the universe of ophthalmic surgeons suggests that the number of IOL explantations ranges from 7,000 to 11,000 each year. The actual numbers and percentages of explantations as well as reported complications vary with the relative percentage of any given manufacturer's lenses implanted and with the popularity of lens styles during the preceding years of implantation. For these reasons, the individual performance of various lenses should be read in the context of this report, considering the time of implantation and the practices that were then in vogue. This survey provides a general picture of IOL explantation but, more importantly, it provides a better structure for a report on 1985 explantations, which will follow.