Phakic IOLs: Where we are and what the future will bring

Phakic IOLs are a long-standing refractive surgical procedure that has experienced ups and downs since the early ’50s when the first implantations were performed by Strampelli and Barraquer. Three main pathways have been followed since the beginning of the development of phakic lenses. The longest and most sinuous and problematic has been the one followed by angle-supported phakic IOLs. A second, more straightforward, led to the development of iris-supported lenses, and the third, straightforward as well, is the one of posterior chamber lenses. At the start of and along each of these pathways, there are distinctive personalities that are to be acknowledged in the development of phakic implants.Today, following many years of progress and difficulties, two types of phakic implants have survived: iris-supported IOLs and posterior chamber IOLs.