Hydroexpression of subluxated lenses using a glide

During the past 8 years, 15 patients (20 eyes) underwent a variety of operations to remove a subluxated lens. In six of these eyes, a new technique, featuring an anterior chamber maintainer and a plastic glide, was used for intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE). The results achieved in these eyes were compared with those in 8 eyes in which cryo extraction was used, in 1 in which pars plana lensectomy was used, in 4 in which aspiration of lens material and peeling of the capsule was used, and in 1 in which a viscoelastic material and spatula were used. Using the glide, the lens is extracted through a scleral tunnel incision or a limbal opening. The length of the opening is somewhat smaller than the diameter of the lens and is significantly smaller than that used in traditional ICCE. The visual outcomes achieved with these various techniques were essentially identical. The proposed technique is simple and relatively safe for these complicated cases.