Purpose: To compare posterior capsule opacification (PCO) incidence and the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in patients who had the soft intraocular lens (IOL) made of hydrophobic acrylic material (AcrySof MA30BA, MA60BM) implanted in their one eye and IOL made of silicone material (Allergan SI- 30NB) implanted in their second eye. All patients included in this study were operated on at Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic during the period from 1999 to 2002. Methods: Twenty-four patients (8 males, 21 females) were included in this study; they were 3 to 6 years after surgery (median 5 years). The EPCO 2000 software (The Evaluation of Posterior Capsule Opacification) was used for PCO assessment. Eyes treated with Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy were excluded from EPCO 2000 evaluation. The density of the opacification was graded clinically from 1 to 4. We compared BCVA, PCO index for every PCO grade and total PCO index. Results: Seven eyes of five patients required Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy, 2 eyes with AcrySof IOL, 5 eyes with Allergan IOL. Median of total PCO index for 48 eyes of 24 patients was for AcrySof IOL 0.496 vs. 0.315 for Allergan IOL. On the evaluation, median of BCVA was for AcrySof IOL 1.0 vs. 0.67 for Allergan IOL. Conclusions: The difference in PCO incidence and BCVA between the silicone and the soft acrylic IOLs were not conclusive in this study. But Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy incidence was higher in the silicone IOLs.

        Key words: posterior capsule opacification, EPCO 2000