Refractive results of hyperopic hydrogel intracorneal lenses in primate eyes
B. E. McCarey, M. B. McDonald, G. van Rij, B. Salmeron, D. K. Pettit and P. M. Knight
Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322.
Hyperopic hydrogel intracorneal lenses were successfully implanted into 27
of 33 primate eyes. All eyes were evaluated preoperatively and
postoperatively at monthly intervals for clinical appearance and refractive
alteration. In a preliminary surgical series, several factors, such as
tight sutures and implant design, resulted in a poor refractive yield. The
final surgical series used a microkeratome with a pediatric microkeratome
ring for smooth interface cuts, interrupted suturing with sufficient
tension to align the wound without compression, a suture through the lens
to prevent its dislocation, and intraoperative keratometry to reduce
postoperative cylinder. The predicted vs measured refractive alteration for
a range of 6 to 20 diopters had a correlation coefficient of .95.
Keratometry changes correlated to the refractive changes with a coefficient
of .97 but understand the change in refraction created by the surgery.
