Anterior vitrectomy for shallow anterior chamber after cataract extraction

Pars plana anterior vitrectomy was performed in 9 patients with shallow anterior chamber after cataract extraction. Five patients had choroidal and/or ciliary body effusion (CCBE), and 4 had aphakic pupillary block (APB). Vitrectomy was performed only after medical treatment failed to restore a normal anterior chamber depth. In all patients the anterior chamber restored during surgery and remained so thereafter, although in patients with CCBE, the fundal pathology subsided days or even months later. The only surgical complication was a longstanding cystoid macular oedema in one patient. Pars plana vitrectomy would appear to have advantages over other surgical techniques, in similar circumstances.