Does eye hold lens implants?

The intraocular lens (IOL) can be placed in three different places in the eye with almost 100% stability and permanence. The cataract is somewhat like a grape with a skin, a soft pulp, and a hard core. Modern cataract surgery opens the grape peel, breaks the hard pit into pieces, and sucks out the soft material, leaving an empty skin that we call the capsule. Most surgeons fold the IOL to fit inside the hole in the capsule and allow the lens to unfold and open, so that it is now larger than the hole through which it was placed into the empty grape skin or capsule. The lens should stay there forever. Alternatively, the lens can be placed in front of the capsule and braced against the capsule for support, what we call sulcus fixated. It too should stay in place forever. Rarely, we need to place an implant in front of the iris supported by the place where the iris ends and the white part of the eye (sclera) begins. This too should provide long-term stability. Ask your eye doctor to show you diagrams of these placement issues.