A practical and easy surgical technique for recovery of an incarcerated haptic.

PURPOSE: To present a surgical intervention for a posterior haptic trapped between the cartridge and plunger during intraocular lens (IOL) implantation.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Posterior haptic incarceration was detected in 36 cases during implantation of a one-piece foldable IOL during cataract surgery with phacoemulsification. In 11 of the patients (Group 1), recovery was achieved by forcibly pulling out the incarcerated posterior haptic. In 25 cases (Group 2), the haptic was recovered by using an MVR knife to cut the cartridge tip from the bottom up parallel to the trapped haptic.

RESULTS

In Group 1, tears were seen on the incarcerated haptic in all cases (100%). In Group 2, the procedure was successful in all 25 cases and there was no accidental cutting of the haptic. In all cases, the surgeries were completed with the recovered IOL in Group 2.

CONCLUSIONS

Posterior haptic incarceration in cataract surgery can be solved by the simple and easy method of cutting the cartridge tip from the bottom upwards and releasing the haptic.