OBJETIVO: Analisar a percepção dos pós-graduandos participantes quanto à qualidade dos cursos lato sensu de oftalmologia do Brasil e apontar as áreas que necessitam melhorias. MÉTODOS: Realizou-se um estudo transversal e descritivo com 107 pós-graduandos de oftalmologia de cursos credenciados pelo Ministério da Educação e Cultura (MEC) e/ou Conselho Brasileiro de Oftalmologia (CBO).Avaliou-se através de questionário as preceptorias (clínica, cirúrgica e emergência), as necessidades de melhoria curricular, aulas teóricas, cirurgias experimentais, atividades cirúrgicas e infraestrutura das instituições participantes. RESULTADOS: Vinte e seis pós-graduandos (24,3%) estudavam em instituições credenciadas pelo MEC, 25 (23,4%) pelo CBO e 56 (52,3%) pelo CBO e MEC. A qualidade da preceptoria clínica, cirúrgica e na emergência mostrou-se satisfatória (86,0%, 87,0% e 67,3% respectivamente). As preceptorias clínica, cirúrgica e na emergência estiveram presentes em todos os turnos em 55,1%, 56,1% e 36,4%, respectivamente. A maioria dos alunos deseja maior oferta de cirurgias experimentais (75,7%), melhoria de recursos para o ensino (63,6%), dos equipamentos (74,8%) e das instalações físicas (67,3%). CONCLUSÃO: As variáveis analisadas foram similares nos serviços credenciados pelo MEC, CBO e por ambos.A qualidade das preceptorias nos serviços era satisfatória, embora não eram presenciais em todos os turnos em várias instituições. Os alunos sugeriram um aumento do volume cirúrgico e de cirurgias experimentais e melhoria na infraestrutura.

Five cases of intraocular lens (IOL) opacification in patients implanted with the Mediphacos Ioflex® IOL are described. Clinical data in each case was obtained from the patient's medical record. The five explanted IOLs underwent gross and light microscopic analysis. Selected lenses were processed for further evaluation and multiple sagittal cuts were stained with the alizarin red and von Kossa methods. Light microscope analysis confirmed the presence of deposits on and within the lens, which stained positive for calcium. The reason why calcification has occurred in these cases remains unclear, but surgeons should be aware of this potential late postoperative complication.

ABSTRACT A 51-year-old patient underwent posterior vitrectomy with perfluoropropane gas injection, phacoemulsification, and implantation of an Oft Cryl® hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lens (IOL) because of traumatic retinal detachment and cataract in the right eye. On the first postoperative day, gas was filling the anterior chamber because of patient's non-compliance in terms of head positioning, and was reabsorbed within one week. Eight months later, the patient returned complaining of a significant decrease in vision. IOL opacification was noticed by slit-lamp examination. The lens was explanted to undergo gross and light microscopic analysis. The lens was also stained with the alizarin red method for calcium identification. Light microscopic analysis confirmed the presence of granular deposits, densely distributed in an overall circular pattern in the central part of the lens optic. The granules stained positive for calcium. This is the first case of the opacification of this type of hydrophilic lens. Surgeons should be aware of this potential postoperative complication, and the use of hydrophilic IOLs should be avoided in procedures involving intracameral gas because of the risk of IOL opacification.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate clinical features of patients related to opacification of hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lenses, four years after surgery. METHODS: We evaluated six cases of late opacification of Ioflex intraocular lenses (case group) compared to 24 patients (control group) with no opacification. Both groups underwent phacoemulsification as a result of a community campaign for underprivileged people. Patients who underwent bilateral cataract surgery had only the right eye included on the study. The patients were submitted to ophthalmic examination, including measurements of corrected distance visual acuity and biomicroscopy slitlamp evaluation. Detailed medical histories were obtained. Surgical details were retrieved. RESULTS: Systemic arterial hypertension was recorded in 4 patients from the case group and 11 in the control group, with no statistically significant difference between groups. A single patient in the control group had diabetes mellitus, and so was not considered for statistical analysis. No environmental factor could be related. There were no statistically significant differences for mean visual acuity between the groups of patients regarding the evaluation periods. One eye in the control group received an Ioflex intraocular lens with the same lot number as one of the opacified lenses. CONCLUSION: No clear patient factor could be related to late Ioflex lens opacification.

Purpose: To evaluate the incidence of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) four years after the implantation of a hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lens (IOL). Methods: Fifty-eight randomly selected eyes from 58 patients were analyzed four years after phacoemulsification and Ioflex IOL implantation. The patients underwent an ophthalmic examination to detect PCO and a detailed medical history was obtained. The patients' charts were reviewed for their corrected distance visual acuity prior to the IOL implantation, as well as for one month postoperatively. The Student's t-test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean age of patients without PCO was 74.6 ± 9.5 years, compared to 70.3 ± 15 years in patients with PCO. Four years after surgery, 39 of the 58 eyes (67%) had detectable PCO and 24 eyes (41.3%) had decreased visual acuity (VA) due to PCO. These patients were referred for Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy. Three patients (5.1%) had decreased VA due to glaucoma, IOL opacification, or age-related macular degeneration. Twelve eyes (20.7%) presented mild PCO with unchanged VA. Systemic arterial hypertension was reported by 45% of the patients, and in 3.5% of these cases this was associated with diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: This study found the incidence of PCO to be 67% four years after phacoemulsification and Ioflex IOL implantation.