Time Course of Accommodation After Implantable Collamer Lens Implantation

Purpose

To assess the time course of accommodative function after Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) implantation and to investigate the relationship between patient age and accommodation in ICL-implanted eyes.

Design

Prospective, nonrandomized clinical trial.

Methods

We prospectively examined 69 eyes of 40 consecutive patients with myopic refractive errors of −3.25 to −22.75 diopters (D) who were undergoing ICL implantation. We assessed the amplitude of accommodation using an accommodometer before and one, three, six, and 12 months after surgery. We also investigated its relationship with patient age.

Results

The accommodation was 6.36 ± 3.94 D (mean ± standard deviation) before surgery and 4.89 ± 2.72 D, 4.98 ± 2.67 D, 5.16 ± 2.72 D, and 5.72 ± 2.85 D at one, three, six, and 12 months after surgery, respectively. The variance of data was statistically significant (P = .02, repeated-measures analysis of variance). Multiple comparisons demonstrated significant differences between measurements made before surgery and at one month after (P = .004, Fisher least significant difference test), before surgery and at three months after (P = .007), and before surgery and at six months after (P = .01). There was a significant correlation between patient age and accommodation before (Pearson correlation coefficient, r = −0.665; P < .001) and one year after (r = −0.803; P < .001) ICL implantation.

Conclusions

Accommodation was impaired transiently in the early postoperative periods, and then recovered gradually over time, indicating that transient dysfunction of the ciliary muscles by ICL fixation may occur after ICL implantation even if the crystalline lens remained intact. As patients aged, the amplitude of accommodation became significantly smaller not only in normal eyes but also in ICL-implanted eyes.