Purpose: To evaluate the effect of 1-piece and 3-piece hydrophobic acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs) on posterior capsule opacification (PCO) after cataract surgery.
Setting: Ophthalmology departments of 3 hospitals in the United Kingdom and Germany and the Department of Physics at a United Kingdom university.
Methods: A series of 131 patients having cataract surgery had implantation of an acrylic 1-piece (SA30AL) or an acrylic 3-piece (MA30BA) IOL (AcrySof, Alcon). Surgery was performed according to standardized protocol by a single surgeon at each hospital. Posterior capsule opacification was assessed using digital retroillumination photography. All images were analyzed at a single center according to a standard protocol. Data were analyzed 6 months and 1 year after surgery.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the percentage area of PCO between the 1-piece (mean 16.0% +/- 15.7% [SD]) and 3-piece (mean 13.6% +/- 19.8%) cohorts 6 months and 1 year after surgery (P =.0664).
Conclusion: There was no evidence of a difference in the area of PCO after cataract surgery between 1-piece and 3-piece IOLs, which were otherwise matched for material and lens geometry.