Implantation Of Artificial Iris-Intraocular Lens Following Anterior Segment Trauma: A Case Report

Ocular trauma is an important cause of vision loss and blindness. Open-globe eye injuries, characterized by full thickness defects of the eyeball, often cause not only severe visual impairment but also psychological distress to the patient. Post-traumatic iris and lens defects are among the most severe complications in patients with open-globe injuries. Contemporary vitreoretinal surgical techniques and technologically advanced intraocular lens implants (IOLs) can be used to improve visual and cosmetic outcomes in patients with these complications

 School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia

Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Croatia

A 63-year-old patient presented with an open-globe injury of the right eye after sustaining a blow to the head. Upon examination, hyphema and traumatic aniridia were found, along with a luxated cataract with corneoscleral rupture. The patient also had an amblyopic left eye. Primary repair of the right eye was done using 10-0 and 8-0 sutures, and intracapsular cataract extraction and anterior vitrectomy were performed. Later, the patient was diagnosed with a corneal ulcer and an amniotic membrane transplantation was performed. The same year, a scleral-fixated artificial iris intraocular lens (Ophtec model 311, +20.00) was implanted. This IOL has a colored body and haptics which simulate the appearance of a normal iris. At the same time, perforating keratoplasty using interrupted and running sutures was done. Postoperatively, the position of the IOL was satisfactory. Three months after the surgery, the patient’s visual acuity improved to 0.4. He also reported a reduction in glare perception.

Ocular trauma remains an important public health problem, considering that the majority of patients are part of the younger, working-age population. Considerable visual acuity improvement and a satisfactory aesthetic result in this case show that the use of novel artificial iris-IOLs is a very effective treatment option in patients with severe open-globe eye trauma.