Apparent accommodation in pseudophakic eyes after implantation of posterior chamber intraocular lenses.

We measured apparent accommodation in 42 pseudophakic eyes (34 patients) after implantation of posterior chamber intraocular lenses. The mean apparent accommodation was 2.03 +/- 1.03 diopters. The mean accommodative power of 16 phakic eyes used as controls was 2.91 +/- 1.29 diopters. The diameter of the pupil appeared to be the most important factor in apparent accommodation--the smaller the pupil, the greater the apparent accommodation. Apparent accommodation was inversely proportional to the pupillary diameter. There was no correlation, however, between apparent accommodation and corrected visual acuity, refractive error, corneal astigmatism, or axial length. There was a negative correlation between apparent accommodation and anterior chamber depth.