Iris Claw Phakic Lens—Intermediate and Long-term Corneal Endothelial Changes

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To study the alterations in the corneal endothelial layer two years after the implantation of iris claw phakic lenses. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study of postoperative results with a minimum follow-up of 6 months, maximum of two years and a mean of 14 months. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, ‘La Fe’ University Hospital, Department of Surgery of Valencia School of Medicine, Valencia, Spain. PATIENTS: Ninety eyes of 70 patients presenting high myopia who underwent anterior chamber phakic lens implantation with iris fixation IOLs in the last two years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Non-contact specular microscopy with video image system was used to perform examination of the corneal endothelium on the central and the mid-peripheral area. Analysis of the cellular density and morphometry was done in every case. RESULTS: The preoperative average cell density of the corneal endothelium was reported to be 3050 ± 335 cell/m 2 . Postoperatively, at 6 months we found a mean of 2946 + 372 cell/m 2 , at one year 2883 ± 318 and 2817 at two years. The loss of endothelial cells was 3.3% in the 6 month follow-up control, 5.5% at 1 year and 7.63% at 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: The density of the endothelial cells showed a slight decrease and no significant detectable morphometrical changes two years after surgery. However, long-term prospective studies need to be carried out in order to evaluate progressive cell loss.