Central vault after phakic intraocular lens implantation: correlation with anterior chamber depth, white-to-white distance, spherical equivalent, and patient age

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the central postoperative vault of a phakic intraocular lens (pIOL) to correct myopia, myopic astigmatism, and hyperopia and identify ocular and lens parameters that might predict the vault amount.

Setting: Fernández-Vega Ophthalmological Institute, Oviedo, Spain.

Design: Cohort study.

Methods: Three months after implantation of Implantable Collamer Lens pIOLs to correct myopia, hyperopia, and myopic astigmatism, central vault was measured using optical coherence tomography. Patients were divided into groups according to the preoperative anterior chamber depth (ACD) to compare the effects of ACD, white-to-white (WTW) distance, and lens diameter on postoperative pIOL vault.

Results: Hyperopic pIOLs had statistically significantly lower vault followed by myopic pIOLs and toric pIOLs, which had a higher mean value and narrower range (260 to 860 μm). Measured vaults had a positive correlation with preoperative ACD (r = .32, P<.001) and WTW (r = .29, P<.001) and a negative correlation with preoperative spherical equivalent (SE) (r = -0.21, P<.001) and patient age (r = -0.12, P=.025). Eyes with a vault of 250 μm or less had a shallower ACD than eyes with a vault between 250 μm and 750 μm (mean difference -0.11 mm; P=.012) and those with a vault greater than 750 μm (mean difference -0.25 mm; P<.001).

Conclusions: Central vaulting was lower in hyperopic eyes. Current nomograms for pIOL diameter selection based on ACD and WTW might yield ideal vault and may have to be adjusted for older patients, shallower ACD, lower WTW, and lower SE.