Corneal endothelial safety after ultraviolet light treatment of the light-adjustable intraocular lens.

PURPOSE: To assess the safety to the corneal endothelium of ultraviolet (UV) light treatment to a light-adjustable intraocular lens (IOL).

SETTING

Codet Vision Institute, Tijuana, Mexico.

DESIGN

Cohort study.

METHODS

The study evaluated consecutive patients scheduled for phacoemulsification cataract surgery with implantation of a light-adjustable IOL. Endothelial cell density (ECD), variation in the size of endothelial cells, and the percentage of hexagonal cells were determined centrally with a specular microscope preoperatively, 1 week postoperatively (before UV treatment), and 6 months postoperatively. Two adjustments and 2 lock-in procedures were performed with a light-delivery system between 2 weeks and 4 weeks postoperatively.

RESULTS

The study enrolled 10 patients. Specular microscopy showed a mean ECD of 2344 cells/mm(2) preoperatively. The mean overall central ECD was 2047 cells/mm(2) 1 week postoperatively and 2130 cells/mm(2) at 6 months, representing an endothelial cell loss of 12.6% and 9.1%, respectively, from preoperative values. There was no statistically significant difference in the coefficient of variation or percentage of hexagonal cells at either postoperative evaluation.

CONCLUSIONS

The endothelial cell loss at 6 months correlated well with previous reports of endothelial damage after phacoemulsification with IOL implantation. The light-adjustable IOL irradiation protocol for adjustment and lock-in procedures did not seem to add to the endothelial damage caused by the cataract surgery, indicating the protocol is safe to the corneal endothelium.