Spontaneous dislocation of a transparent lens to the anterior chamber--a case report

The causes leading to dislocation of the natural lenses are different involving injuries, hereditary diseases and spontaneous dislocation. Spontaneous dislocation of a transparent natural lens is extremely rare, especially dislocation of the anterior eye chamber. We report a case of spontaneous dislocation of the transparent natural lens to the anterior eye chamber in a patient who had no history of eye injuries.

The patient was a 17-year-old boy. Lens dislocation was spontaneous, and the patient presented for ophthalmological consultation due to a sudden vision impairment of the left eye. Biomicroscopic examination verified that the transparent lens was in the anterior chamber, and it was spherophakia of lesser diameter; there were no signs of increased intraocular pressure, as typically expected in lens dislocation to the anterior chamber. The patient was operated on in general anaesthesia. Surgery involved intracapsular extraction of the dislocated lens through a corneoscleral incision.

This case report shows that a spontaneous dislocation of the natural lens may occur in younger people. The dislocated spherophakic lens to the anterior eye chamber did not contribute to the rise of the intraocular pressure and development of acute glaucoma. The acute glaucoma resulted from the pilocarpine narrowing of the pupil due to pupillary block. The intracapsular instrumental extraction of the dislocated transparent lens from the anterior chamber was successfully completed through a corneoscleral incision.