LIQUEFIED AFTERCATARACT - A COMPLICATION OF CONTINUOUS CURVILINEAR CAPSULORHEXIS AND INTRAOCULAR-LENS IMPLANTATION IN THE LENS CAPSULE

PURPOSE: To describe a new type of aftercataract that contains a lique fied, milky white substance between the lens optic and the posterior l ens capsule, METHOD: We reviewed the medical records of 41 patients id entified as having this type of aftercataract. RESULTS: All 41 eyes (4 1 patients) underwent uneventful phacoemulsification after continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis and implantation of a posterior chamber intr aocular lens made from polymethylmethacrylate. Two months to 6 years a fter surgery (average +/- SD, 3.8 +/- 1.7 years), fibrosis was noted e venly along the entire circumference and between the anterior surface of the intraocular lens optic and the edge of the capsular opening cre ated by continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis. This led to formation of a closed chamber between the intraocular lens and the posterior lens capsule, which then accumulated a liquefied, milky white substance. Tw enty three of the 41 eyes showed liquefied aftercataract in conjunctio n with other types of aftercataract: in 12 eyes with fibrosis, in 11 e yes with Elschnig pearls, and in one eye with a Soemmering ring, None of the eyes had any signs of inflammation; six of the 41 eyes had redu ced visual acuity caused exclusively by the liquefied aftercataract. B efore cataract surgery, 14 eyes were diagnosed with diabetic retinopat hy, four with glaucoma, and two with uveitis, CONCLUSION: We report a new type of aftercataract characterized by a liquefied, milky white su bstance that accumulates between the lens optic and the posterior lens capsule when the anterior capsular opening, originally created by con tinuous curvilinear capsulorhexis, becomes occluded with the lens opti c. (C) 1998 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.