Scanning electron microscopy analysis of a sputnik-like intraocular lens 28 years after implantation.

Purpose: To report a pupil-supported, iris-clip intraocular lens (IOL) that was explanted more than 28 years after implantation.

Methods: A pupil-supported, iris-clip, Sputnik-like IOL was implanted in the left eye of a 33-year-old man to correct aphakia after extracapsular cataract extraction due to trauma.

Results: Twenty-eight years after implantation, the patient was referred to our center with loss of vision. Clinical examination showed dislocation of the IOL, which was subsequently explanted. Scanning electron microscopic examination showed a transparent, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), pupil-supported, iris-clip IOL with melanosomes and cell deposits (foreign-body reaction) on its surface.

Conclusions: This case demonstrates the inertness of PMMA material and reports that a foreign body reaction can be induced following IOL dislocation 28 years after implantation.