Intraocular lens displacement after cataract surgery and treatment

Often patients complain of blurred vision after cataract surgery and one of the causes is intraocular hyperdisplacement or improper positioning during surgery. Cataract surgery is a minimally invasive and immediate surgery with excellent results. In some rare cases, however, there are complications that cause vision loss and require a new corrective operation.

What happens when an intraocular lens is displaced?

Recently a patient complained to me that the lens had been dislodged from his eye. Of course, there is no such thing because the lens is immunologically neutral in the eye and is not expelled under any circumstances. Basically what is happening is that it is not resting properly inside the eye and is misaligned. A displaced intraocular lens can move into the vitreous cavity and contact the retina which is very dangerous. For this reason, the problem of displacement-movement of the intraocular lens must be treated immediately.

What could be the causes?

During cataract surgery, the clouded natural lens of the eye is removed and replaced with an artificial intraocular lens. In some cases, this extremely thin intraocular lens becomes displaced. Intraocular lens dislocation can occur days to years after surgery and may be due to trauma to the eye or diseases that affect the stability of the capsule or improper positioning during surgery.

Symptoms during intraocular displacement

Patients with intraocular lens displacement may experience a decrease or change in vision, diplopia, and sensitivity to bright light. In addition, they may report eye pain or headaches and inflammation. Some patients also report seeing the tip of the intraocular lens.

How is intraocular lens displacement treated?

There are various surgical treatments. The most appropriate with the least complications is the placement of a scleral support lens. The lens is usually sutured to the sclera (white of the eye) with a special goretex or prolene suture. Recently, a scleral support intraocular lens was released in Greece, which does not need sutures for its support. The lens is called Carlevale and with special “legs” it rests on the scleral wall of the eye, without stitches. Also, this lens presents excellent stability to avoid refractions. This lens to date has been used by many surgeons successfully and tends to be established as the lens of choice in such select cases.

With prompt and careful management, most patients with intraocular misalignment have an excellent visual outcome following the corrective procedure. Contact your specialist eye surgeon Georgios Trichona for an immediate diagnosis and treatment of the problem.