Pars plana vitrectomy in the management of retained intravitreal lens fragments after cataract surgery

Purpose: To assess the outcome of patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy for retained lens fragments after cataract surgery. Methods: A retrospective study of all consecutive cases with pars plana vitrectomy performed for retained lens fragment was conducted. Twenty‐seven eyes of 27 patients were included in the study. Results: Twenty‐four (89.9%) eyes received phacoemulsification. Pars plana vitrectomy was performed at the same sitting, or ranged from day 1?70 after cataract surgery. The mean follow up was 31.1 months. Final visual acuity of 6/12 or better was achieved in 15 (55.6%) patients. After excluding patients with pre‐existing eye diseases, 68.4% of patients had visual acuity 6/12 or better. Complications after pars plana vitrectomy included glaucoma (22.2%), retinal detachment (11.1%) and surgically induced necrotizing scleritis (3.7%). Conclusion: Ocular complications with poor visual outcome can occur after removal of intravitreal retained lens fragments complicating cataract surgery.