title: Posterior capsule opacification 9 years after phacoemulsification with a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic intraocular lens.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the development of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) and survival rate without capsulotomy after implantation of a hydrophobic or hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lens (IOL) at the 9-year postoperative follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  One of 3 experienced cataract surgeons performed standard phacoemulsification in one eye of 120 patients with cataract. The patients were randomized to implantation of either a hydrophobic acrylic IOL or a hydrophilic acrylic IOL. Both IOLs had sharp posterior edges. Retroillumination images of PCO were obtained with a fundus camera 9 years postoperatively and analyzed semiobjectively using POCOman computer software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-eight of the 120 patients completed the 9-year follow-up examination. Patients implanted with the hydrophilic IOL had significantly (p<0.001) more and denser PCO. The survival rate without Nd:YAG capsulotomy was significantly higher (p<0.001) in eyes with the hydrophobic IOL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After 9 years, more and denser PCO developed in eyes with the hydrophilic IOL than the hydrophobic IOL. The survival rate without the need for capsulotomy was higher in eyes with the hydrophobic IOL.
authors.affiliation: St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm - Sweden.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm - Sweden.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kugelberg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D058442:Capsule Opacification / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular; D007910:Lenses, Intraocular / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000145:classification; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018918:Phacoemulsification; D057852:Posterior Capsule of the Lens / Q000473:pathology*; D064727:Posterior Capsulotomy; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology