Opaque Lens Implants

In the January 2025 issue of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Dr. Rhaissa Menelau and colleagues published an article about deposits on hydrophilic acrylic lens implants.

When we perform cataract surgery, we remove the cataract, which is the natural lens of the eye, and replace it with a lens implant. Those implants, as noted by Dr. Menelau, can cloud over with deposits, which sometimes makes it harder to see through them. There are different materials of lens implants, including hydrophobic acrylic, silicone, and hydrophilic acrylic. It is important for us as surgeons to know the properties of these lenses and their tendencies to lose clarity.