[Iritis following cataract operations. Historical retrospective with critical comments on a so-called "toxic lens"...

Postoperative inflammation is one of the oldest complications of cataract surgery. It was described by the Indian Susruta as early as 500 BC. Following the introduction of cataract extraction by Daviel in 1745, these operations attracted increasing interest. In 1786 de Wenzel distinguished two types of postoperative inflammation. In the dangerous type there was involvement of the entire eye and severe pain; in the benign type, which began in the first few postoperative days, the conjunctiva and lids were not involved, and even if hypopyon developed there was no severe pain. During the 19th century, the possible causes of the benign type of iritis were discussed, including infection, phacoanaphylaxis, trauma, toxicity of irrigation solutions etc. In the early days of implantation of intraocular lenses, from 1949 onward, postoperative inflammation was common. However, it was not until 1980 that the term "toxic lens syndrome" was introduced. The clinical descriptions do not differ much from other descriptions of benign iritis published during the last 200 years. Therefore, it does not seem that there is any great advantage to be gained by using this new term.