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Updated: Jul 17, 2026
Scanning Light Scattering Profiler (SLPS) Based Methodology to Quantitatively Evaluate Forward and Backward Light Scattering from Intraocular Lenses
Published on: June 6, 2017
Clinical indications and microscopic findings in 151 explanted intraocular lenses over 12 years
Julian Bucur1, Zoha Mian2, Max Liu2
1Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany .
Purpose:
To analyze intraocular lenses (IOL) explanted at a single center between December 2012 and March 2025 with regard to explantation indications, patient demographics and light microscopic findings.
Setting:
Goethe University Frankfurt, and John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah.
Design:
Retrospective laboratory study.
Methods:
Explanted IOLs were catalogued according to patient demographics, intraocular duration, explantation indication and light microscopic appearance. When required, histochemical and histological staining was performed to further characterize observed deposits.
Results:
One hundred and fifty-one IOLs from 151 patients were examined. 87 of the patients were male (58%), 64 were female (42%). The mean patient age at explantation was 70.9 years ± 16.2 (standard deviation, SD), the mean intraocular duration was 10.5 years ± 8.1. Single-piece IOLs showed a predisposition to pigmentary dispersion, hydrophobic acrylic IOLs to glistenings and hydrophilic acrylic IOLs to calcification. Silicone IOLs demonstrated the highest rate of Soemmering's ring (SR) traces within their capsular bag, although only in less advanced stages.
Conclusions:
The findings largely confirm the known material-specific susceptibility of IOLs to characteristic microscopic changes. Owing to its long observation period, this study reflects temporal changes in IOL material selection, model usage, and explantation indications over the past decades.
