Preventing posterior capsular opacification with an endocapsular equator ring in a young human eye: 2-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE To report the results of a specially designed closed ring with a square edge (endocapsular equator ring) in a young patient to prevent posterior capsular opacification. METHODS One eye of a 22-year-old atopic patient underwent endocapsular equator ring implantation with a 1-piece polymethylmethacrylate intraocular lens immediately after phacoemulsification at Hara Eye Hospital on January 10, 2003. The solid flexible silicone ring has an outer diameter of 9.0 mm, is 1.0 mm wide and 1.0 mm thick, and has a square edge. The loops of the intraocular lens are fixed in the inner groove of the ring. The contralateral control eye underwent phacoemulsification and implantation with a conventional intraocular lens implantation. The Hayashi method was used to determine the posterior capsular opacification score. RESULTS The ring retained the transparency of the entire posterior capsule. Two years postoperatively, the posterior capsular opacification score in the central area was 3.75 in the ring eye and 15.25 in the control eye, which underwent Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy 2.5 years postoperatively. CONCLUSION An endocapsular equator ring effectively prevents posterior capsular opacification in a young patient with atopic cataracts.