engleski

Intraocular lens (IOL) Materials

In 1949, first intraocular lens (IOL) insertion after cataract surgery was performed by Sir Harold Ridley, in London. Only in the 1970s, the IOL insertion after cataract surgery began to be a standard procedure. The material the first IOL-s were composed of was polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The PMMA is a rigid material and the corneal incision had to be at least as big as the IOLs optic and it became its biggest disadvantage in the cataract surgery. The main goal of modern cataract surgery is as smallest incision possible, so the IOL-s had to be flexible and therefore foldable. This goal was achieved by improvements in the IOL design and materials that made them foldable. First foldable IOL-s were made of hydrogel but they were unstable and the development of the first silicone IOL-s overcame that problem. Foldable silicone IOL-s were first implanted in 1978 by Kai-yi Zhou. Foldable IOL’s benefits are its compatibility with a small incision surgery that is self-sealing procedure and the possibility of insertion by a single-use applicators that made the surgery safer. In the future, we can expect some new, different and innovative approaches in the IOL design and materials.

IOL, IOL materials

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