Haptic externalization in a backwardly placed anterior chamber intraocular lens

A patient who had been asymptomatic following extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior capsule rupture and anterior chamber lens implantation presented 18 months postoperatively with iritis and erosion of the superior haptic through the site of the cataract wound. At the time of explantation, it was seen that the anterior chamber lens had been inserted in a backward manner with the anterior face of the lens placed posteriorly. The resultant lens vaulting placed the superior haptic in the same plane as the cataract wound. Whether the superior haptic had initially been incorporated in the surgical wound or had eroded through the eye wall from the anterior chamber, the backward placement of the anterior chamber lens likely played a role in the development of haptic externalization.