Purpose: To determine the feasibility of using posterior chamber intraocular contact lenses to treat myopia.
Setting: Ambulatory surgery centers in Torino, Ancona, and Ivrea, Italy.
Methods: The phakic intraocular contact lens is made of a collagen copolymer. We implanted 15 of these lenses in 14 patients with preoperative spherical equivalents ranging from -10.8 to -24.0 diopters (D); average myopia was -15.3 D +/- 3.1 (SD). Average follow-up was 7.0 +/- 1.95 months.
Results: Mean postoperative spherical equivalent was -2.0 +/- 1.6 D. Uncorrected visual acuity improved in 14 eyes. Best spectacle-corrected acuity was maintained or improved in all but one eye. No iritis or cataracts were observed. Six months postoperatively, the mean endothelial cell loss was 4%. A pupillary block requiring a superior peripheral iridectomy occurred in one eye.
Conclusions: Because of the incomplete follow-up, we cannot draw conclusions about the long-term safety of the implantable contact lens. The intimate contact between the contact lens and the natural lens raises the possibility of cataract formation. However, examination by Scheimpflug photography and ultrasound biomicroscopy showed no progressive lens opacities.