AimsThe aim of this study was to analyse the effective lens position (ELP) in patients with Marfan syndrome (MFS) and ectopia lentis (EL).MethodsPatients with MFS undergoing lens removal and primary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation were enrolled in the study. The back-calculated ELP was obtained with the vergence formula and compared with the theoretical ELPs. The back-calculated ELP and ELP error were evaluated among demographic and biometric parameters, including axial length (AL), corneal curvature radius (CCR) and white-to-white (WTW).ResultsA total of 292 eyes from 200 patients were included. The back-calculated ELP was lower in patients undergoing scleral-fixated IOL than those receiving in-the-bag IOL implantation (4.54 (IQR 3.65–5.20) mm vs 4.98 (IQR 4.56–5.67) mm, p<0.001). The theoretical ELP of the SRK/T formula exhibited the highest accuracy, with no difference from the back-calculated ELP in patients undergoing in-the-bag IOL implantation (5.11 (IQR 4.83–5.65) mm vs 4.98 (IQR 4.56–5.67) mm, p=0.209). The ELP errors demonstrated significant correlations with refraction prediction error (PE): a 1 mm ELP error led to PE of 2.42D (AL<22 mm), 1.47D (22 mm≤AL<26 mm) and 0.54D (AL≥26 mm). Multivariate analysis revealed significant correlations of ELP with AL (b=0.43, p<0.001), CCR (b=−0.85, p<0.001) and WTW (b=0.41, p=0.004).ConclusionThis study provides novel insights into the origin of PE in patients with MFS and EL and potentially refines existing formulas.