New aspheric IOL shows good quality of vision, but high YAG rate

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — A multicenter European study demonstrates that the aspheric Akreos Advanced Optics IOL produces a significant improvement in functional vision, including contrast sensitivity and low contrast visual acuity, according to a surgeon speaking here.

"Results tend to overlap at 6 months, but at 1 and 3 months they are significantly better than with the standard Akreos Adapt," Ann Haustermans, MD, said at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.

Total higher-order aberrations and spherical aberration were also significantly reduced beginning in the early postoperative follow-up period, Dr. Haustermans noted.

The study included 69 patients requiring bilateral cataract surgery. Investigators randomly assigned eyes to receive either a standard Adapt IOL or the Adapt AO IOL.

The Adapt AO IOL is based on the standard Adapt lens that has been on the market in Europe for 7 years. It is made of the same hydrophilic acrylic polymer and has four haptics to ensure stability and centration in the capsular bag. In addition, the Adapt AO lens offers a 360° posterior square edge to reinforce its mechanical barrier against posterior capsular opacification.

However, PCO remains a common complication. "The barrier effect remains a weak point of the lens. In the 40 patients who have completed the study, 21 eyes with the Adapt and 13 eyes with the AO lens have already had a Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy," Dr. Haustermans said.