Complicated extracapsular cataract surgery in pseudoexfoliation syndrome: a case report

Posterior Capsule Rupture during Phacoemulsification among Patients with Pseudoexfoliation-Is There A Correlation?

This study was done to correlate the occurrence of posterior capsule rupture among patients with pseudoexfoliation during phacoemulsification. This was a retrospective audit of patients who underwent phacoemulsification type cataract surgery from January 2011 to December 2012 in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia. Data was obtained from the National Eye Database (NED) of Malaysia. The data was analysed using SPSS version 21.0. By using logistic regression analysis, it was found that there was no significant increase in the occurrence of posterior capsule rupture among patients with pseudoexfoliation. Hence, we concluded that there was no correlation between the occurrence of posterior capsule rupture and the presence of pesudoexfoliation among patients who underwent phacoemulsification.

Decreased incidence of capsule complications and vitreous loss during phacoemulsification in eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome

PURPOSE

To report a series of patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome who had phacoemulsification without an increased incidence of intraoperative complications or late intraocular lens (IOL) dislocation.

SETTING

Department of Ophthalmology, Kaiser Permanente, Denver, Colorado, USA.

METHODS

Patients were prospectively recruited from a consecutive series of all cases of phacoemulsification performed by 1 surgeon. There were 67 eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and 1670 eyes without pseudoexfoliation. The incidence of vitreous loss, capsule tears, and zonular dialysis was compared between the 2 groups.

RESULTS

The incidence of vitreous loss was 1.5% in eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and 2.3% in eyes without pseudoexfoliation. The difference between the 2 groups was not statistically significant (chi square = 0.203; P =.33). There were no cases of posterior capsule tears or zonular dialysis in pseudoexfoliation eyes without vitreous loss. No IOL dislocated over a mean follow-up of 54.1 months.

CONCLUSION

Although caution is still advised, patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome who have phacoemulsification can achieve results similar to patients without pseudoexfoliation.

Capsular tension ring implantation after capsulorhexis in phacoemulsification of cataracts associated with pseudoexfoliation syndrome. Intraoperative complications and early postoperative findings

PURPOSE

To evaluate the effect of an endocapsular tension ring in preventing zonular complications during phacoemulsification of cataracts associated with pseudoexfoliation syndrome.

SETTING

Eye Clinic of Beyoğlu Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.

METHODS

A prospective randomized study comprised 78 eyes with cataract and pseudoexfoliation syndrome that were randomly divided into 2 groups. The age, sex, cataract density, iridodonesis, axial length, anterior chamber depth, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and intraocular pressure (IOP) were matched between groups. In 39 eyes, a capsular tension ring (CTR) was implanted after capsulorhexis and hydrodissection but before nucleus emulsification. Thirty-nine eyes that did not have a CTR implanted served as a control. The main outcome measures were the rates of intraoperative zonular separation and capsular fixation of a foldable intraocular lens (IOL). Posterior capsule rupture without zonular dialysis, vitreous loss, corneal edema, fibrin in the anterior chamber, BCVA, and IOP in the immediate postoperative period were also compared between the 2 groups.

RESULTS

Five eyes (12.8%) in the control group and no eye in the CTR group had intraoperative zonular separation (P =.02). Posterior capsule rupture without zonular separation occurred in 3 eyes (7.7%) in the control group and 2 (5.2%) in the CTR group. Capsular IOL fixation was achieved in 37 eyes (94.9%) in the CTR group and 31 eyes (74.3%) in the control group (P =.012). The difference in BCVA was not statistically significant between the 2 groups (P =.44); however, uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) was significantly better in the CTR group (P =.026).

CONCLUSION

In cases of cataract associated with pseudoexfoliation syndrome, implanting a CTR before phacoemulsification of the nucleus reduced intraoperative zonular separation, increased the rate of capsular IOL fixation, and improved UCVA.

Spontaneous late dislocation of intraocular lens within the capsular bag in pseudoexfoliation patients

PURPOSE

To identify a delayed complication of cataract surgery in patients with zonular weakness caused by pseudoexfoliation syndrome.

DESIGN

Retrospective observational case series.

PARTICIPANTS

Eight eyes in seven patients with clinically diagnosed pseudoexfoliation syndrome who had undergone previous uncomplicated cataract extraction and placement of a posterior chamber intraocular lens.

METHODS

This study evaluated eight cases of late spontaneous dislocation of posterior chamber intraocular lenses within the capsular bag in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome. Data were gathered retrospectively from patients' operative reports, medical records, and pathology reports.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

(1) Interval between original surgery and dislocation; (2) final best-corrected visual acuity and ocular outcome.

RESULTS

All patients had a diagnosis of pseudoexfoliation syndrome and had previously undergone uncomplicated cataract surgery. No patient had any other predisposing factors that would lead to zonular dehiscence or weakness. Delayed dislocation of the entire capsular bag containing the intraocular lens (IOL) occurred spontaneously in all cases. Mean time from IOL implantation to dislocation was approximately 85 months (7 years and 1 month; range, 57-115 months) after surgery. Seven eyes were treated successfully with IOL exchange: six with placement of an anterior chamber IOL and one with scleral fixation of a posterior chamber IOL. The remaining case was treated by scleral fixation of the dislocated IOL. Gross pathology analysis of seven cases confirmed the presence of the IOL within the intact capsular bag. Six eyes have achieved final best-corrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better.

CONCLUSION

Patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome may be at risk for delayed spontaneous dislocation of IOL within the capsular bag after uncomplicated cataract surgery. Awareness of this newly recognized long-term complication may justify a reevaluation of surgical considerations for cataract removal in these patients.

Exfoliation syndrome

Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) is an age-related disease in which abnormal fibrillar extracellular material is produced and accumulates in many ocular tissues. Its ocular manifestations involve all of the structures of the anterior segment, as well as conjunctiva and orbital structures. Glaucoma occurs more commonly in eyes with XFS than in those without it; in fact, XFS has recently been recognized as the most common identifiable cause of glaucoma. Patients with XFS are also predisposed to develop angle-closure glaucoma, and glaucoma in XFS has a more serious clinical course and worse prognosis than primary open-angle glaucoma. There is increasing evidence for an etiological association of XFS with cataract formation, and possibly with retinal vein occlusion. XFS is now suspected to be a systemic disorder and has been associated preliminarily with transient ischemic attacks, stroke, systemic hypertension, and myocardial infarction. Further ramifications await discovery. Deposits of white material on the anterior lens surface are the most consistent and important diagnostic feature of XFS. The classic pattern consists of three distinct zones that become visible when the pupil is fully dilated. Whereas the classic picture of manifest XFS has been often described, the early stages of beginning exfoliation have not been well defined. Next to the lens, exfoliation material is most prominent at the pupillary border. Pigment loss from the iris sphincter region and its deposition on anterior chamber structures is a hallmark of XFS. Despite extensive research, the exact chemical composition of exfoliation material (XFM) remains unknown. An overproduction and abnormal metabolism of glycosaminoglycans have been suggested as one of the key changes in XFS. The protein components of XFM include both noncollagenous basement membrane components and epitopes of the elastic fiber system such as fibrillium. Regardless of etiology, typical exfoliation fibers have been demonstrated electron microscopically in close association with the pre-equatorial lens epithelium, the nonpigmented ciliary epithelium, the iris pigment epithelium, the corneal endothelium, the trabecular endothelium, and with almost all cell types of the iris stroma, such as fibrocytes, melanocytes, vascular endothelial cells, pericytes, and smooth muscle cells. The presence of XFS should alert the physician to the increased risks of intraocular surgery, most commonly zonular dehiscence, capsular rupture, and vitreous loss during cataract extraction. Heightened awareness of this condition and its associated clinical signs are important in the detection and management of glaucoma, and preoperative determination of those patients at increased risk for surgical complications.

Anterior chamber depth and complications during cataract surgery in eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome

PURPOSE

To look for associations of preoperative A-scan ultrasound ocular dimensions with complications during phacoemulsification in eyes with pseudoexfoliation.

METHODS

A total of 174 eyes with pseudoexfoliation of 135 patients undergoing planned cataract surgery were included in a prognostic study based on the review of a clinical database. Preoperatively, A-scan ultrasound examination with measurement of anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, and total axial length was performed. Phacoemulsification with implantation of a posterior chamber intraocular lens was performed by a total of five surgeons. Intraoperative complications (zonular dialysis and/or vitreous loss) were correlated with preoperative findings including ultrasound dimensions. Multivariate logistic regression analysis with a generalized estimating equations method was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Intraoperative complications occurred in 12 eyes (6.9%) of 11 patients. The anterior chamber was significantly shallower in eyes with than in eyes without complications (mean, 2.36 +/- 0.44 mm vs 2.74 +/- 0.52 mm; P =.013). The differences in lens thickness (4.93 +/- 0.55 mm vs 4.72 +/- 0.54 mm; P =.30) and the differences in axial length (22.92 +/- 1.09 mm vs 23.66 +/- 1.36 mm; P =.07) between the two groups did not reach statistical significance. In eyes with pseudoexfoliation, an anterior chamber depth of less than 2.5 mm was associated with a risk of 13.4% for intraoperative complications compared with an overall incidence of intraoperative complications of 6.9% and an incidence of 2.8% for an anterior chamber depth of 2.5 mm or more.

CONCLUSIONS

A small anterior chamber depth may indicate zonular instability in eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and should alert the cataract surgeon to the possibility of intraoperative complications.

Centration and fixation of posterior chamber intraocular lenses in eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome. An analysis of explanted autopsy eyes

Pseudoexfoliation syndrome is an important risk factor in cataract surgery. We examined decentration of posterior chamber intraocular lenses in a series of 24 autopsy eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome that had undergone cataract surgery and intraocular lens implantation. The results were compared to a control group of 25 normal autopsy eyes that matched the pseudoexfoliation collection for age distribution, implant duration and further anatomical parameters. The mean lens decentration in all pseudoexfoliation eyes (0.75 +/- 0.38 mm) was significantly higher than in the control group (0.40 +/- 0.29 mm) (p = 0.0008). Analysis of subgroups with symmetrical bag/bag fixated intraocular lenses showed a significantly higher decentration in the pseudoexfoliation group (p = 0.04). The main reason for decentration was a decentration of the entire capsular bag in pseudoexfoliative eyes (p = 0.001), which was related to zonular weakness and damage. The results indicate that in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome alternative fixation sites, like sulcus or transscleral fixation, should also be considered.