Intraocular Polyimide IOL Haptic Breakage Long-Term Postoperatively

Werner, Liliana

Intraocular Polyimide IOL Haptic Breakage Long-Term Postoperatively

Friday, April 25, 2014

KIOSKS (Boston Convention and Exhibition Center)

Liliana Werner, MD, PhD, John A. Moran Eye Center, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Shannon L. Stallings, MD, Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA

Arturo S. Chayet, MD, Codet Vision Institute, Tijuana, Mexico

Samuel Masket, MD, Advanced Vision Care, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Fidel Camacho, MD, Codet vision institute, Tijuana, Mexico

Nick Mamalis, MD, Moran Eye Ctr/Univ of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Narrative Responses:

Purpose
To present clinicopathological correlation of 2 cases of 3-piece silicone lenses with broken polyimide haptics.

Methods
In the first case, the lens was implanted into the anterior chamber after posterior capsule rupture. Twelve years later, it was explanted and exchanged due to bullous keratopathy. However, upon careful manipulation for explantation, the haptics shattered into multiple pieces. In the second case, initial in-the-bag implantation of the lens was uneventful. Fifteen years later, the lens dislocated into the anterior chamber as a result of spontaneous, in situ haptic breakage. The lenses were explanted and sent for pathological analyses.

Results
The haptics of both lenses appeared very brittle during careful manipulation for gross and light microscopy, with further breakage. Scanning electron microscopy of both lenses revealed no evidence of degradation of the haptics. Their surfaces appeared smooth and regular, with jagged edges where the breaks occurred.

Conclusion
Few studies have examined the long-term biocompatibility of polyimide, and more research is needed to determine the cause of this phenomenon.