Akreos Adapt AO Intraocular lens opacification after vitrectomy in a diabetic patient: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Postoperative optic opacification of hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs) is an uncommon complication leading to IOL explantation. In the past decade, several studies reported that the granular deposits responsible for the opacification were probably calcium and phosphate salts; however, the exact mechanism causing calcification of IOLs is unknown. The aim of this study is to describe clinical and laboratory findings of a case of late postoperative opacification of an aspheric hydrophilic acrylic IOL (Akreos Adapt AO) after vitrectomy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 60-year-old woman diagnosed with cataract and severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) underwent uneventful phacoemulsification and hydrophilic acrylic IOL (Akreos Adapt AO, Bausch & Lomb) implantation in both eyes. Seven months later, the woman came back with a complaint of blurry vision in the left eye. Fundus examination revealed vitreous hemorrhage in the left eye veiling the retinal detail. A 23-gauge vitrectomy with endolaser treatment was performed in the left eye. Ten months after the vitrectomy, the patient complained of decreased visual acuity in the left eye again. On slit-lamp examination, we observed a well circumscribed centrally and paracentrally located opacification within the pupillary area localized to the anterior surface of the IOL. The IOL was explanted from the left eye together with the capsular bag, and an iris-claw lens (Artisan Aphakia OPHTEC) was implanted. The explanted IOL was examined under pathological evaluation (alizarin red method). CONCLUSIONS: IOL opacification is a rare event. We described a case of postoperative opacification of the Akreos Adapt AO IOL after vitrectomy in a patient with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and found the deposits on the anterior surface of the IOL consisted of calcium aggregates. Given the higher frequency of postoperative opacification observed in diabetic patients, hydrophilic acrylic IOLs should be used with caution in patients with diabetes.