[Performance of a new 7 mm intraocular lens with follow-up over 1.5 years].

Background: Good visibility over the entire fundus is mandatory for optimal diagnostics and treatment of retinal pathologies. If an IOL implantation is planned in the context of retinal pathologies, a model with an enlarged optic diameter offers various advantages. The two most important benefits are an enhanced view at the fundus periphery and an improvement of the IOL positional stability especially with combined vitrectomy and the use of gas or silicone oil tamponades. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance and positional stability of a new 7 mm IOL.

Material and methods: This prospective study included 55 eyes of 39 patients who were scheduled for standardized cataract surgery and received a monofocal 7.0 mm optic IOL (Aspira-aXA, HumanOptics). An incision size of 2.0 mm was chosen. Follow-up visits were performed 1 week (1W), 1 month (1M), 4 months (4M) and 1.5 years (1.5J) postoperatively. Measurements included subjective refraction, uncorrected and corrected distance visual acuity (UDVA and CDVA) as well as IOL stability regarding decentration, tilt and rotation (IOLs had a pseudomarking on the periphery of the optics).

Results: Except for the postoperative occurrence of an Irvine-Gass syndrome in one eye, no intraoperative or postoperative complications were reported. The CDVA did not change significantly (p = 0.40) within the postoperative course from 1 month (median 0.00 logMAR; -0.10 to 0.22 logMAR) to 1.5 years (median 0.00 logMAR; -0.10 to 0.10 logMAR). The IOL was found to be stable over the postoperative course as decentration was < 0.02 mm and tilt < 5.5°. There was a median rotation of 1.8° (0.0-13.4°) within the first postoperative week, which was not significantly different from the rotation between surgery and 1.5 years (median 1.4°; 0.0-10.9°).

Conclusion: With comparable functional performance and the same small incision size as with usual 6.0 mm IOLs, the Aspira-aXA offers the advantages of a 7.0 mm optic in the diagnostics and treatment of peripheral retinal pathologies. In addition, the lens shows good position stability in the capsular bag.