Refractive outcomes of Carlevale IOLs compared to Artisan iris-claw IOLs considering the type of incision

To compare the refractive outcomes and the complications of implantation surgery by the Carlevale IOL to the Artisan iris-claw IOL.

Retrospective comparative study of consecutive surgical cases between 2019 and 2021 in our tertiary centre in Paris, France.

We included 142 eyes in the Artisan group and 63 in the Carlevale group. Post-operative astigmatism at one month was 2.3 ± 1.6 D in the Carlevale group, 3.3 ± 2.5 D in the Artisan group with corneal incisions, and 1.8 ± 1.4 D in the Artisan group with scleral incisions (p = 0.015). Surgery duration was higher (p = 0.007) with the Carlevale IOL (70.8 ± 31.3 min) than with the Artisan IOL (58.3 ± 23.2 min). The complication rates were similar at one month between the two groups (25.4% in Artisan, 27% in Carlevale). The mean follow-up was longer in the Artisan group (234.5 days vs. 77 days, p < 0.001).

Artisan iris-claw IOL seems to induce higher astigmatism than Carlevale sutureless scleral-fixated IOL at one month when injected through a corneal incision, but not when injected through a scleral incision. Therefore cataract surgeons should avoid wide corneal incisions in implantation surgery whenever possible.