SILICONE INTRAOCULAR LENSES AND SILICONE OIL

Background Foldable silicone intraocular implants are becoming more popular in conjunction with small incision phacoemulsification. Patients We observed three patients with silicone oil droplets adherent to the posterior surface of the silicone implant, following silicone oil removal after preceding vitreoretinal surgery with the installation of silicone oil, These droplets could not be dislodged intraoperatively either with focal aspiration or irrigation. They interfered with the patients subjective visual acuity. For this reason, we performed an exchange of the silicone intraocular implant against a PMMA one-piece lens in all three cases. Results This procedure resulted in an increase of the visual acuity. The mechanism of adherence between the two silicone polymers is finally not known. Conclusions With increased use ofimplantable silicone intraocular lens and silicone oil this complication may be encountered more frequently. Therefore, implantation of silicone lens in vitreoretinal high risk eyes should avoided.