Silicone versus polymethylmethacrylate intraocular lenses with regard to capsular opacification

The authors conducted a 3-year randomized trial to compare silicone intraocular lenses (IOLs) with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) IOLs, to determine any differences in laser capsulotomy rates, capsular opacification light scatter, and subjective scoring.

A total of 119 patients were enrolled, 84 of whom were examined at 3 years. The authors designed a prospective, masked, and randomized trial to compare the objective (lens opacity meter), subjective (slit-lamp scoring), and clinical parameters of the posterior capsular opacification (PCO) of these patients.

The silicone group had less PCO than the PMMA group, according to objective (8.6% vs. 10.4%; P = .02, Student's t test) and subjective scoring (0.88 vs. 1.79; P = .0001, Student's t test). The laser capsulotomy rate was 24% for the silicone group and 33% for the PMMA group; however, this difference was not statistically significant.

The silicone IOL was associated with less PCO than the PMMA IOL.