Long-term discission rate after placing posterior chamber lenses with the convex surface posterior.

The incidence of secondary capsulotomy was studied in a group of 757 posterior chamber intraocular lenses placed with the convex surface posterior within the capsular bag. Minimum follow-up was 12 months and ranged up to 61 months, with a mean of 33 months. In the first year, only 2.9% of cases required discission, but this rose to 15.7% at five years. The need for capsulotomy with angled-haptic lenses was 7.9% at three years; it was 15.0% with uniplanar lenses (P = .04). This difference appeared to be due to better apposition of the optic to the posterior capsule in the angled lenses, creating a more effective barrier to epithelial pearl migration. Capsulotomy carries significant risks and lens designs that minimize the long-term need for capsulotomy should be sought. Convex posterior lenses with angled haptics have a low incidence of posterior capsule opacification.