Opacification of a Hydrophilic Acrylic Intraocular Lens.

Opacification of a hydrophilic acrylic intraocular (IOL) lens is a rare phenomenon. We herein report a case of a 57-year man complaining of decreased vision at left eye for the last 4 months. He had undergone phacoemulsification with IOL implantation 2 years back. IOL opacification was observed through slit-lamp. IOL exchange was carried out. The exchanged IOL and a new lens of the same model were sent to laboratory for pathologic analysis. Confocal microscopy showed uniformly distributed granules from the surface to 80 µm internal surface. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the details of granules. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the presence of calcium and silicon in the deposits. Aqueous humor biochemical analysis revealed a normal result. We discuss the possible causes of opacification of IOL in this report.