Intraoperative, early postoperative and late postoperative causes of IOL opacification

During the past 5 years, different intraocular lenses (IOLs) manufactured from various materials and designs were explanted because of optic opacification. The explanted lenses evaluated at the John A. Moran Eye Center underwent gross, microscopic, ultrastructural, histochemical, spectroscopic, and surface analyses. Causes leading to IOL opacification included deposition of material onto the lenses surfaces, absorption of exogenous molecules leading to ingress of water into their optics, and long term material degradation. The time of presentation of the optic opacification in different cases was intraoperative,…