Complications of Closed-Loop Lens Removal

To the Editor. —I read with interest the article by Smith et al 1 and the letter by Apple and Olsen 2 in the January 1987Archives. It is my opinion that the conclusions, while they may be true, are not substantiated by the details in the surgical cases presented. Twenty-two of the 53 eyes in which the implant was placed had complications during surgery. Seventeen percent had preexisting Fuch's dystrophy. In a good number of patients who were presented in the tables there was no explanation of what necessitated removal of the implant. It appears that the article by Smith et al does prove that these patients had a very high percentage of complications at the original surgery. Perhaps one should look at the reasons for the complications of surgery rather than condemning the implant. The implants did not request to be placed in eyes with dystrophy. The implants