Video of the month | Jan 2023 | Approaching Traumatic Cataract

Presented and operated by: Miltos Balidis MD, PhD, FEBOphth, ICOphth

Edited by: Penelope Burle de Politis MD

The surgery of a traumatic cataract is aforehand a challenging task due to the altered anatomy and possible unpredictable findings within the eye. Per-operatory difficulties demand calm and strategic management in order to preserve undamaged structures, minimize operative complications, and optimize visual function.

This video demonstrates the surgical treatment of a white traumatic cataract with anterior and posterior synechiae, illustrating all the steps and maneuvers necessary to reestablish ocular anatomophysiology and restore optical function.

Lens extraction was accomplished through both phacoemulsification and excision of the dense posterior capsule, followed by anterior vitrectomy and implantation of a scleral – fixated Carlevale intraocular lens.

Trauma inflicted to the eye may result in multiple lesions, each of which must be dealt with individually, even if in one single approach. A thorough preoperative evaluation of the patient, covering the anterior and posterior segments of the eye as extensively as possible, allows for better surgical planning, enabling the surgeon to be prepared, for the most part, in terms of materials and techniques to be employed throughout the procedure.

“Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it.”
René Descartes

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