Defective toric intraocular lenses with no subsequent effects on visual outcomes

Abstract

We report a case series of 8 toric intraocular lenses (IOLs) noted to have paracentral inherent opacities after implantation in uneventful phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Defective areas had a microbubble appearance embedded paracentrally in the lens material. All patients were followed up at 1 day, 1 week, and 3 months postoperatively; uncorrected distance visual acuity was unaffected in all cases. None of the 8 patients reported symptoms of increased glare or significant visual distortion postoperatively. It is likely that the defective areas were induced by the manufacturing process and less likely that they were the result of instrument manipulation or ophthalmic viscosurgical device use. To our knowledge, this is the first report of defective toric IOLs with no effects on visual acuity.