Use of Techniques for Scleral and Iris Fixation in Secondary Implantation of Intraocular Lenses

Abstract

Scleral and iris fixation of intraocular lenses (IOL) are useful in the treatment of surgical or traumatic aphakia, luxation, and subluxation of IOL if the patient does not present appropriate capsular support. However, there is no consensus in the literature about which of these 2 methods is safer and better. The authors performed a literature review searching the main postoperative outcomes obtained with the use of each surgical method. Scleral and iris fixation of IOL are efficient in correction of the patients' visual acuity, even though each technique presents distinct complications which depend especially on the experience of the surgeon with the performed surgical method. It is important to understand that individuals submitted to scleral or iris fixation present previous preoperative complications in their eyes. Besides, both procedures are very complex, involving intense manipulation of the eye globe. The success rate of these surgical techniques is highly variable and has a close relation to the preoperative conditions of the patient's eye and the improvement of the surgeon's learning curve.

Keywords: Aphakia; Cataract surgery; Intraocular lens implantation; Iris; Sclera.