Pathological evaluation of postmortem human eyes implanted with a new single-piece hydrophobic acrylic lens

Abstract

Purpose: To report the pathological findings in 14 human cadaver eyes implanted with a single-piece AcrySof® (Alcon Laboratories) posterior chamber intraocular lens (IOL). Setting: David J. Apple, MD Laboratories for Ophthalmic Devices Research, John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Methods: Fourteen human autopsy eyes implanted with a single-piece AcrySof (SA30AL) IOL were evaluated. The eyes were sectioned at the equatorial plane, and the anterior segment containing the IOL in the capsular bag was evaluated from a posterior perspective (Miyake-Apple view) and from an anterior perspective (surgeon's view) after removal of cornea and iris. They were then processed through paraffin, sectioned, and stained with hematoxylin–eosin, periodic acid-Schiff, and Masson's trichrome and examined under light microscopy. Results: All IOLs had symmetric in-the-bag fixation. Slight decentration was measured in 1 eye, which also had an anterior capsule tear. Grade 1 anterior capsule opacification was present in 9 eyes. No central posterior capsule opacification or posterior capsule folds were observed in any eye. Soemmering's ring formation was observed in 5 eyes. Zonular stretch caused by different degrees of capsular bag contraction was present in 4 eyes without decentration of the IOL. Conclusions: Analyses of pseudophakic cadaver eyes from the posterior (Miyake-Apple) view, complemented by microscopic analyses, proved useful in the evaluation of IOL–capsular bag interaction. These studies are more important in cases of newly introduced lens designs.