Capsular bag fixation of one-piece silicone lenses

One hundred sixteen (116) one-piece silicone implants (STAAR 4203C) designed for capsular bag placement have been implanted since July 1987 and followed for up to two years. It appears that the posterior capsular opacification rate is significantly less than with sulcus-fixated one-piece silicone implants. This has been achieved by incorporating the small round capsulotomy using the capsulorhexis technique in addition to a modified endocapsular phacoemulsification technique. The percentage of posterior capsules requiring neodymium:YAG laser treatment in the first four months was 4.3 for the 4203C silicone IOLs and 20.0 for the sulcus-fixated one-piece silicone IOLs. The opacification rates for the one-year follow-up were 11% and 31%, respectively.