title: Four year follow-up of the MemoryLens.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the long-term results of implantation of thermoelastic MemoryLens intraocular lenses (IOLs) are comparable to those of conventional poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) IOLs.
  
  
  METHODS
  St. Elisabeth Hospital, Dillingen, Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study compared visual acuity, astigmatism, lens decentration, biocompatibility, and posterior capsule opacification in 36 eyes with a MemoryLens with those in 36 eyes with a conventional PMMA IOL over 4 years. The MemoryLenses were implanted in 1991 after cataract extraction by phacoemulsification.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four years postoperatively, best corrected visual acuity was 20/20 to 20/25 in 63.9% of the MemoryLens group and 55.6% of the PMMA group. Mean astigmatism was 0.84 diopters (D) in the MemoryLens group and 1.20 D in the PMMA group. No cellular precipitates, as evaluated by biomicroscopy, or lens decentration greater than 0.5 mm were found in either group. Posterior capsule opacification, which developed in 22.2% in the MemoryLens group and 38.9% in the PMMA group, was treated with a neodymium: YAG laser capsulotomy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MemoryLens allows small incision cataract surgery and long-term results that compare favorably with those of PMMA IOLs.
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmic Department, St. Elisabeth Hospital, Dillingen, Germany.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Pötzsch
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lösch-Pötzsch
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D007910:Lenses, Intraocular; D008297:Male; D008768:Methylmethacrylates; D008875:Middle Aged; D018918:Phacoemulsification / Q000379:methods; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D008768:Methylmethacrylates