The association between fibrillopathy and posterior capsular/zonular breaks during extracapsular cataract extraction and posterior chamber IOL implantation

Abstract

Abstract. During extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) with an intended implantation of a posterior chamber intraocular lens (IOL), the frequency of posterior capsular/zonular breaks was significantly higher in eyes with fibrillopathy (5 of 28 eyes = 17.9%) than in eyes without fibrillopathy (16 of 284 eyes = 5.6%) ( P > 0.05). The rupture of the posterior capsular‐zonular barrier was detected during lens nucleus expression in 4 eyes (19.0%), during lens cortex clean‐up in 14 eyes (66.7%) and during IOL implantation in 3 eyes (14.3%). Possible causes of this increased risk of posterior capsular/zonular breaks in patients with fibrillopathy are discussed.