Capsular capture of silicone intraocular lenses

Purpose: To examine the incidence of capsular capture in silicone IOL implantation and determine its effect on visual acuity. Setting: Hayashi Eye Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan. Methods: This study comprised 144 eyes that had phacoemulsification with three-piece silicone intraocular lens (IOL) implantation that were evaluated about 3 months after surgery. The examination included the status of the haptic and optic placement, extent of posterior capsular opacification (PCO), and the best corrected visual acuity. Results: One hundred twenty-eight eyes had an in-in haptic placement, 15 had in-out placement, and 1 had out-out placement. Capsular capture occurred in 30 eyes (20.8%). The extent of PCO in eyes with capsular capture was greater than in those without capture. The best corrected visual acuity in eyes with capsular capture was worse than in those without capture. In addition, eyes with in-out and out-out haptic placement had significantly worse PCO and visual impairment than the eyes with in-in placement. Conclusion: There was a high incidence of capsular capture after silicone IOL implantation. This complication, along with the undesirable placement of the haptics, led to PCO and thus visual impairment.