SIMULTANEOUS CORNEAL LACERATION REPAIR, CATARACT REMOVAL, AND POSTERIOR CHAMBER INTRAOCULAR-LENS IMPLANTATION

Frequently, patients with lens laceration or traumatic cataract coincident with corneal laceration, or both, must undergo two separate procedures-primary repair of the corneal laceration and secondary lens removal with or without intraocular lens implantation. We performed simultaneous corneal laceration repair, extracapsular cataract extraction, and posterior chamber lens implantation in seven patients with lacerating ocular injuries who met inclusion criteria for this procedure. With average follow-up of 10 1/2 months, all seven patients achieved visual acuity of 20/40 or better with spectacle correction. YAG posterior capsulotomy was the only additional procedure. One patient had macular pigmentation consistent with either traumatic or photic maculopathy. There were no other complications attributable to the surgical procedures. We believe that certain lacerating injuries of the anterior segment are particularly amenable to cataract extraction and lens implantation at the time of primary laceration repair. This approach obviates additional operative and anesthetic risks, while affording more timely visual rehabilitation.