ICL deemed safe, effective for moderate and high myopia in study

SAN FRANCISCO — The Implantable Contact Lens is safe, effective and predictable for correcting moderate to high myopia, according to 3-year data recently published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The posterior chamber phakic IOL from STAAR, now named the Visian ICL, is awaiting Food and Drug Administration premarket approval, as is an anterior chamber phakic IOL, the Artisan/Verisyse from Ophtec/Advanced Medical Optics.

Members of the ICL in Treatment of Myopia Study Group analyzed data from 526 eyes of 294 patients in the multicenter study. Preoperative myopia ranged from –3 D to –20 D.

At 3 years postoperatively, 59.3% of the patients had 20/20 or better visual acuity and 94.7% had 20/40 or better uncorrected VA if best corrected VA was 20/20 and patients were targeted for emmetropia, the study authors said.

Reports of symptoms such as glare, halos, double vision, night vision problems and difficulty driving at night either decreased or remained unchanged, according to the authors. The cumulative 3-year corneal endothelial cell loss was less than 10%.

Less than 1% of patients reported dissatisfaction. Three ICL removals with cataract extraction and IOL implantation have been performed, the authors reported,

The study is published in the September issue of Ophthalmology.