Implantation of posterior chamber intraocular lenses in the absence of lens capsule during penetrating keratoplasty.

We retrospectively studied the clinical records and the corneal endothelial cell counts of 133 consecutive eyes that received sutured posterior chamber intraocular lenses during penetrating keratoplasty in the absence of lens capsular support. Postoperative follow-up time ranged from three to 24 months, with 82 patients having at least one year of follow-up. At one year, 45.1% of these patients had 20/40 or better visual acuity, 30.5% had a visual acuity between 20/50 and 20/100, and 24.4% had a visual acuity of 20/200 or worse. At two years, 63.6% had a visual acuity of 20/40 or better, 18.2% had a visual acuity between 20/50 and 20/100, and 18.2% had a visual acuity of 20/200 or worse. Ninety-seven percent of the grafts remained clear at their latest follow-up examination. Cystoid macular edema (36.4%) and age-related macular degeneration (14.0%) accounted for poor visual acuity in most cases. Less common problems included graft rejection, retinal detachment, glaucoma, and endophthalmitis. At one year, the endothelial cell loss in the grafts averaged 19% with sutured posterior chamber intraocular lenses.