[Choyce's Mk IX implants after intracapsular extraction. Short and middle-term results]

75 eyes underwent intracapsular cataract extraction with primary Choyce Mk IX anterior chamber lens implantation. None of these eyes had a traumatic or a secondary cataract, and follow up ranged from 3 to 27 months, 6 months or more for 80% of the eyes. Final visual acuity was 3/6 or better for 67 eyes (89,3%). The most frequent cause of poor final VA was cystoid macular edema in 4 cases (i.e., a 6,7% rate of significant CME). One lens was removed because it was too short and unstable with no adverse effect on the eye. One case of chronic severe corneal epithelial dystrophy occurred after uneventful surgery in a patient who had been treated for facial pain by chemical destruction of trigeminal nerve. Retinal detachment occurred in two eyes, and was successfully reattached by surgery. The presence of the implant posed no added difficulty in performing scleral buckling. In one eye, severe hypertension occurred post-operatively, this has been controlled by medical therapy and until now the eye retains very good vision. It is to be noted that in this case vitreous loss occurred at the time of lens implantation surgery. Growing experience helped us to deal effectively with the specific problems posed by these lenses, all of them in fact minor and easily controlled: iris tuck if the eye is too soft and the air bubble too large, propeller phenomenon if the implant is too short, and eye tenderness if it is too long. Our results ate very encouraging and remain good for those of our patients whose follow up is longer than 18 months.