Accommodative intraocular lenses: short-term visual results of two different lens types.

PURPOSE: To compare the ability of two types of accommodative intraocular lenses (IOLs) to provide uncorrected near and distance visual acuity (VA) after cataract surgery.

METHODS

A total of 108 eyes of 75 patients underwent cataract surgery by phacoemulsification and IOL implantation either bilaterally or monocularly with one of two types of accommodative IOLs: the AT-45 lens (69 eyes) or the 1-CU lens (39 eyes). Patients were followed for up to 1 year after cataract surgery. Near VA was measured through the distance correction to obtain the true near vision effect of the accommodating IOL.

RESULTS

Uncorrected distance VA of 20/30 or better was achieved by 84.6% of the bilaterally implanted 1-CU patients and 73.6% of the bilaterally implanted AT-45 IOL patients 1 year following surgery. Uncorrected near VA of J1 or better was achieved by 42% of the patients with the bilateral 1-CU implant and 36.8% of the patients with the bilateral AT-45 implant. For J3 or better near acuity, the values were 92.3% for the bilateral 1-CU patients and 84.2% for the bilateral AT-45 patients at 1 year. A total of 54% of the eyes with 1-CU implants underwent a mild myopic shift (<1.0 D), 21% had a mild hyperopic shift, and 45% of the eyes were emmetropic at 1 year.

CONCLUSIONS

Both accommodative IOLs provided good near and distance vision postoperatively. The 1-CU IOL appears clinically to provide slightly better uncorrected distance and distance-corrected near VA than the AT-45 lens.