Implantation of the Crystalens HD accommodating intraocular lens (IOL) is producing excellent visual outcomes and a high degree of independence from eyeglasses after cataract surgery, according to three European eye surgeons.
The surgeons presented their findings at the 2010 winter meeting of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, held February 12-14 in Budapest, Hungary.
Mark Tomalla, MD, of Duisburg, Germany, said he has implanted the Crystalens HD accommodating IOL in a series of 48 patients. At the time of his presentation, 17 of these patients had been monitored for a period of 6 months after surgery.
At the 6-month follow-up visit:
- All patients could see clearly in the distance and at arm’s length without glasses.
- 71 percent reported they did not need reading glasses.
- The remaining 29 percent said they needed reading glasses only occasionally.
Patient satisfaction with the Crystalens HD accommodating IOL was “well above the average,” according to Dr. Tomalla.
Angel Lopez-Castro, MD, (Madrid, Spain) reported similar results for 42 of his patients receiving the Crystalens HD IOL. He said 80 percent of these patients exhibited the equivalent of 20/25 or better reading vision without glasses, and all patients had distance vision of 20/20 or better without glasses.
Kristien Vanhoucke, MD, of Mol, Belgium, reported implanting the Crystalens HD in eyes of 26 patients. At 6 months after surgery, 90 percent of these patients reported having very good vision at all distances and not needing glasses for any reason.
Crystalens HD is the fourth-generation accommodating IOL produced by Bausch & Lomb (Rochester, NY). The company received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2008 to market Crystalens HD in the United States.
The FDA approved the first Crystalens accommodating IOL in November 2003. In January 2010, Bausch & Lomb announced the introduction of Crystalens AO, its latest accommodating IOL that is designed to reduce higher-order aberrations.
At present, Crystalens is the only brand of accommodating IOL approved by the FDA for use in refractive cataract surgery in the United States.
SOURCE: Multiple European clinics report promising accommodating IOL visual outcomes. Ocular Surgery News. Published online February 15, 2010.
Tags: Crystalens