Retinal detachment and phthisis bulbi after implantation of an iris prosthetic system

We report 2 eyes of 2 patients who developed persistent inflammation, hypotony, and total retinal detachment after secondary implantation of an iris prosthetic system (IPS) in association with cataract surgery. The first patient had an uneventful history of 16 years despite a retained intraocular glass foreign body and the second patient, of 38 years after sustaining penetrating corneoscleral injury with iris tissue loss. Both patients were thoroughly assessed clinically, and the enucleated globe in the first patient was examined by light microscopy. Both eyes had chronic inflammation with retrocorneal and cyclitic membrane formation around the artificial iris-lens diaphragm. These cases suggest that implantation of an IPS combined with cataract surgery can trigger decompensation of posttraumatic eyes that had been stable over a long period.