Study: Artisan lens useful in correcting high myopia

Most eyes showed no or mild anterior chamber flare 6 months postop.

Issue: November 1, 2001

MANNHEIM, Germany — Implantation of the Artisan IOL (Ophtec) is “a precise method,” for correction of high myopia according to Michael Knorz, MD. Among the benefits of the Artisan lens, he said, are fast visual recovery and good postop visual acuity.

From September 1996 through February 1999, Dr. Knorz and colleagues implanted the Artisan lens — also known as the Worst Iris Claw lens, after developer and Dutch ophthalmologist Jan Worst, MD — in 44 eyes.

“We treated 44 eyes of 26 patients with myopia –17.35 ± 3.57 D, all well outside the range of LASIK correction,” he said. Initial follow-up was 6 weeks and 6 months.

Of the 44 eyes, 76% showed very mild anterior chamber flare at 6 months after surgery, measured with the Kowa Laser flare meter. No cells were observed in the anterior chamber, indicating a very mild reaction only, he added. No inflammatory reaction was visible either.

Results show little flare

Artisan IOL with 6-mm optic at 1 week after implantation.

Six months after the initial implantation, 79% of the eyes were within ±1 D of the target refraction.

“Seventy-nine percent is an excellent figure in such high myopes. About 40% were within ±0.5 D,” Dr. Knorz said.

According to the study, the mean best corrected visual acuity increased from 0.43 D preop to 0.65 D postop.

Six months postop, 21% of the eyes showed no flare, and a mild anterior flare was noticed in 76% of the treated eyes.

“I feel that the mild flare measured is just a transitory response to the IOL implantation, which will not cause any adverse effects. After a 3-year follow-up, only one eye developed some cataract, which may also be unrelated to the Artisan IOL, as cataracts are quite frequent in high myopes,” he said.

Dr. Knorz added that none of the patients sought re-treatment. Also, those eyes that presented with flare did not develop any of the symptoms of flare.

“It was a subclinical finding,” he said.

Although the initial study included follow-up only through 6 months postop, Dr. Knorz has seen most of the patients at 2 years and 3 years postop. One eye developed slight nuclear sclerosis of the lens, but all other lenses remained clear.

“There was no chronic or acute inflammatory reaction in the anterior chamber; however, we did not perform laser flare measurements with the patients again,” he said.

For Your Information:

Michael Knorz, MD, can be reached at 14 Leibniz St., 68165 Mannheim, Germany; (49) 621-418089; fax: (49) 621-4183135; e-mail: knorz@eyes.de. Dr. Knorz has no direct financial interest in the products mentioned in this article, nor is he a paid consultant for any companies mentioned.

For information on the Artisan phakic IOL, contact Ophtec USA, 6421 Congress Ave., Suite 112, Boca Raton, FL 33487; (561) 989-8767; fax: (561) 989-9744; e-mail: ophtecusa@aol.com; Web site: www.ophtec.com.

Reference:

Gross S, Knorz M, et al. Results after implantation of a Worst-iris claw lens to correct high myopia. Der Ophthalmologe. 2001;98(7):635-638.