Effect of intraocular lens size on posterior capsule opacification after phacoemulsification

Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) is one of the most common complications of phacoemulsification with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. This retrospective study evaluated the incidence of neodymium: YAG (Nd:YAG) laser capsulotomies for PCO in two groups of patients with different sizes of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), capsular bag-fixated IOLs. We evaluated 437 eyes that had phacoemulsification with continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis over a four-year period. Patients were placed in one of two groups, based on IOL size: large IOL (lens length 13.5 mm or greater) and small IOL (lens length less than 13.5 mm). In the large IOL group, 106 of 280 patients (38%) required YAG laser posterior capsulotomy; in the small IOL group, 25 of 157 patients (16%) did. This difference was statistically significant even though the average follow-up was 84.1 weeks in the large IOL group and 54.1 weeks in the small IOL group.