PURPOSE:

To investigate the changes in vault and the effect on visual outcomes 1 year after implantable Collamer lens (ICL) implantation.

METHODS:

In this retrospective study, 127 eyes of 66 patients undergoing ICL implantation were examined both before and up to 1 year after the surgery. The examination contents included white-to-white (WTW) diameter, central vault of the ICL (distance between posterior surface of ICL and anterior surface of crystalline lens), refractive error, and wavefront high-order aberration (HOA). All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 13.0 software.

RESULTS:

A significant decrease in vault was noted up to 1 month, after which the value stabilized (p=0.001). The moderate vault decreased significantly after the first 3 months postsurgery (paired-samples t test, p<0.05). Low vault showed a tendency to increase and high vault showed a tendency to decrease, but not significantly, over time. There was no statistically significant correlation between the amount of vault and the refractive error (Pearson correlation coefficient R=0.111, p=0.473) and there was a statistically significant correlation between the vault and HOAs (R=0.304, p=0.024).

CONCLUSIONS:

Implantable Collamer lens vault over the crystalline lens had the tendency toward a slight decrease with time and did not significantly affect the vision outcome 1 year after surgery.