Iris Prolapse after Cataract Surgery (Video)

This cataract complication is rarely seen. Here you can see a piece of the iris (the colored part of the eye) that has prolapsed upwards through the cataract incision. This particular surgery was performed with the “scleral tunnel” technique, where the doctor creates the entry incision through the sclera and tunnels into clear cornea before entering the anterior chamber.

In the second part of the video, you can see that this iris is keeping the wound open, and thus draining aqueous from the anterior chamber to the outside of the eye. Obviously, this is not a good thing and needs to be repaired with a second surgery, and the area better covered with conjunctiva.

Download Video:

irisprolapse.wmv (5.2 meg)
irisprolapse.mp4 (6.5meg)

Thumbnails (click to enlarge photo)