Artiflex foldable lens for myopia correction results of 10 years of follow-up

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of the Artiflex® lens implant and to follow the evolution of the number of corneal endothelial cells over time. Design It was a retrospective study of an observational case series of patients who underwent surgery at “The INVISION Ophthalmic Hospital” (Almería, Spain) in 2007 and who were followed for 10 years. Methods Setting : Clinical practice. Study population included 53 eyes of 30 patients who underwent an Artiflex® lens implant for the correction of myopia from −4 to −14 D. Each patient included in this study had stable myopia for at least 2 years and a contraindication for corneal refractive surgery. The efficacy index was defined as the quotient between uncorrected distance visual acuity postoperative and best-corrected distance visual acuity (BCDVA) preoperative. The safety index was calculated as the quotient between BCDVA postop and BCDVA preop. Results The average efficacy and safety indices of the lenses implanted were 1.1 (SD 0.30) and 1.06 (SD 0.2) at 10 years of follow-up. In this period of time there has been a loss of 12% of the corneal endothelial cells. The postoperative complications were pigment dispersion in four eyes (7%) of four patients and decentration of phakic intraocular lens in two eyes (4%) of another two patients. Conclusions The Artiflex® foldable phakic lens could be a safe and effective long-term alternative for myopic patients in whom laser surgery was contraindicated.