Long-term Follow-up of Endothelial Cell Change after Artisan Phakic Intraocular Lens Implantation

Objective: To report endothelial cell densities (ECDs) and their correlation to anterior chamber depth (ACD) after implantation of the Artisan intraocular phakic lens. Design: Prospective observational case series. Participants: Three hundred eighteen eyes of 173 myopic patients treated with the Artisan iris-fixated phakic intraocular lens (IOL). Methods: Eyes with an ACD ranging between 2.89 and 4.5 mm were implanted with the Artisan phakic IOL. Endothelial cell density measurements were performed preoperatively and at each follow-up examination using a noncontact specular microscope. Main Outcome Measures: Endothelial cell density (cells per square millimeter). Results: Follow-up ranged between 1 (82 eyes) and 7 years (13 eyes) (mean, 35.3±20.7 [standard deviation] months per eye). After 3 years, there was a significant loss in ECD (P≤0.03). At 5 years, mean observed endothelial cell loss was 8.3% (5.3% corrected for a natural endothelial cell loss of 0.6% a year). Endothelial cell density loss remained progressive throughout our follow-up period. After 3 years, a significant negative correlation between ACD and endothelial cell loss was revealed (P≤0.03). Patient age, gender, refractive error, incision size, and side of the eye were not correlated to ECD loss. All corneas remained clear throughout the study. Conclusion: After 3 years, a significant ECD loss was revealed. This ECD loss was significantly negatively correlated to the ACD. We therefore suggest that eyes just meeting the minimum ECD requirement have greater ACDs to compensate for possible greater endothelial cell loss and that patients with shallow anterior chambers have higher ECDs. Artisan phakic lens implantation in young eyes narrowly meeting the minimum criteria of endothelial cell density (2000 cells/mm2) and ACD (2.6 mm) should perhaps be reevaluated, due to longer exposure to higher rates of endothelial cell loss.

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