To evaluate the crystalline lens thickness/anterior chamber depth (CLT/ACD) ratio as a preoperative factor that affects the vault after implantable contact lens (ICL) implantation.

A total of 130 eyes of 130 patients who received bilateral ICL implantation were included in the present study. The preoperative CLT/ACD ratio was analyzed to determine if the patients had any correlation with postoperative vault by Visante optical coherence tomography (OCT).

The mean vault was 0.58 mm ± 0.23 at postoperative 2 months. Eight eyes (6.15%) had low vault, 93 eyes (71.53%) had ideal vault and 29 eyes (29.31%) had high vault. The CLT/ACD ratios were 1.04 mm ± 0.11, 0.96 mm ± 0.09 and 0.90 mm ± 0.09 in the low vault group, ideal vault group and high vault group, respectively ( p < 0.01). The CLT/ACD ratio showed statistically significant correlations with postoperative vault in univariate analysis (r = -0.4718; p < 0.01) and in multivariate analysis ( p < 0.01).

Vaults after ICL implantation have a negative correlation with the preoperative CLT/ACD ratio. The results from the present study may improve the prediction of postoperative vault after ICL implantation.