Clinical evaluation of Nd:YAG capsulotomy on the light-adjustable intraocular lens.

Purpose: To investigate the safety and refractive outcomes of Nd:YAG capsulotomy in pseudophakic eyes with the light-adjustable intraocular lens (LAL) both before and after completing the light delivery device lock-in treatments.

Setting: Private practice in Orange, California.

Design: Retrospective, comparative study.

Methods: Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the timing of their YAG capsulotomy (Group I underwent YAG capsulotomy before lock-in treatments and Group II underwent YAG capsulotomy on completion of lock-in treatments). Sphere, cylinder, axis, spherical equivalent (SE), uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) were compared preoperatively and postoperatively using 2-tailed paired t tests. Postoperative data were measured 1 month after Nd:YAG capsulotomy. The α level (type I error) was set at 0.05.

Results: The LAL was successfully implanted in 485 eyes from January 2020 to March 2023. 10 eyes (0.02%) needed YAG capsulotomy before the completion of lock-in treatments (Group I), and 28 eyes (5.77%) needed YAG capsulotomy after the lock-in was completed (Group II). Postoperative CDVA significantly improved compared with preoperative values in both groups. Changes in sphere, cylinder, axis, SE, and UDVA preoperative and postoperative measurements were not statistically significant ( P > .05) in both groups.

Conclusions: YAG capsulotomy can be safe and effective for patients with the LAL who develop posterior capsular opacification during the adjustment period. There were no significant changes in sphere, cylinder, axis, or spherical equivalence after YAG capsulotomy in both groups.