Comments on Silicone Intraocular Lens Discoloration

To the Editor. —We read with interest the letter by Milauskas1and also his reply2to the correspondence by Kershner3and Ziemba.4We congratulate Dr Milauskas for detailing his findings and for providing a notification of possible problems with silicone as an intraocular lens (IOL) biomaterial. These letters provide an alert to the ophthalmic community and the Food and Drug Administration. We wish to communicate our experience with explanted silicone lenses that were submitted to the Center for Intraocular Lens Research (Salt Lake City, Utah, and Charleston, SC) between July 1987 and July 1991. Of a total of approximately 5000 explanted IOLs studied in our laboratory, 24 were silicone lenses, of which 11 were manufactured by STAAR Surgical Co (Monrovia, Calif) and 13 by Allergan Medical Optics (AMO; Irvine, Calif). The implant duration of these IOLs ranged from 7 days to 34 months (mean, 16 months).