Surgical removal of a free floating cyst of the iris pigment epithelium causing disturbing visual symptoms

Pigmented cysts in the anterior chamber, fixed or free floating, are consid ered to be unusual but not very infrequent.(1-4) However, most of these cas es usually do not need any treatment other than a periodic observation.(5) We report the surgical removal of an iris pigment epithelial cyst floating freely in the anterior chamber. The reason for surgical removal was, distur bance in near vision being caused by movement of the cyst across the visual axis. This specific symptom of disturbed near vision, to the best of our k nowledge, is a rare indication for surgery that has not been pointed out ea rlier. Histopathological confirmation of the clinical diagnosis was also ob tained.