Timing of vitrectomy for retained lens fragments after cataract surgery

To determine the outcomes of early (less than 7 inter-operative days) versus late (7 or greater inter-operative days) vitrectomy in patients with retained lens fragments in the posterior segment after cataract surgery.

This was a retrospective review of all patients underwent pars plana vitrectomy for retained lens fragments at the University of Virginia Hospital from 2002 to 2015.

Forty-one eyes were included in the analysis. Mean follow-up time was 25.3 months (range 3.2 months-13 years). Patients in the early vitrectomy group had poorer baseline visual acuity than those in the late vitrectomy group (mean logMAR, 1.10 vs. 0.53, p = 0.030). No other pre-operative differences existed between the two groups. At the final follow-up, there was no significant difference in visual acuity between the early (mean logMAR, 0.41) and the late (mean logMAR, 0.45) vitrectomy groups. There were no differences in rates of glaucoma, retinal detachment, or cystoid macular edema between the groups. Factors associated with final visual acuity of worse than 20/40 were diabetes mellitus, placement of anterior chamber intraocular lens at cataract surgery, cortical as opposed to nuclear retained lens fragments, post-cataract extraction complications, need for glaucoma medications, and additional surgery after vitrectomy. Separate analysis was done for patients with pre-existing eye disease resulting in worse than 20/40 vision, which showed.

Clinical outcomes were similar in patients undergoing early and late vitrectomy. Patients with poorer baseline visual acuity were more likely to receive early vitrectomy. Worse final visual acuity was seen in patients with baseline diagnosis of diabetes and in those who experienced post-operative complications.