Unintended placement of intraocular lens haptics in the sulcus and its association with posterior capsular opacification in pseudophakic post-mortem eyes.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of unintended placement of intraocular lens (IOL) haptics in the sulcus and its association with posterior capsular opacification (PCO).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: 428 post-mortem pseudophakic human eyes.

Methods: Eyes were obtained from the Lions Gift of Sight and imaged in Miyake-Apple view (MAV). IOL haptic placement (bag-bag, bag-sulcus, sulcus-sulcus) was determined from the MAV images. IOL-capsular bag complexes were extracted and analyzed via Automated Detector Opacification Software to quantify PCO and Soemmering's Ring (SR). SR distribution was categorized as focal, diffuse, or none. Mean differences in PCO and SR between haptic groups were assessed via Welch's t-test. Odds ratios were used to compare the risk of SR distribution patterns between both haptic groups. Sex, clinical history (diabetes, smoking, hypertension, glaucoma, cancer, age-related macular degeneration [AMD], hypercholesterolemia, cardiovascular disease), and IOL model and specifications were collected.

Results: 20 eyes (4.67%) had unintended sulcus placement of haptics. Mean PCO (p = 0.0367) and SR (p = 0.0414) were significantly higher in sulcus eyes. Sulcus eyes were significantly more at risk of focal SR distribution (OR 8.715; p < 0.0001) and significantly less at risk of diffuse SR distribution (OR 0.168; p = .0007). Sulcus eyes had significantly higher frequencies of glaucoma (p < 0.0001) and AMD (p = 0.0023) on clinical history.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that unintended sulcus placement of IOL haptics may be associated with an increased risk of PCO and SR formation. This study offers clinical signs of sulcus haptic placement that may prompt physicians to seek earlier appropriate intervention.