Cataract extraction after vitrectomy.

Cataract extractions were performed in 25 patients who had previously undergone pars plana vitrectomy. Posterior chamber IOLs were implanted in 20 of 26 eyes. Modification of the usual surgical technique was often necessary because the zonules and/or posterior capsule were unusually mobile. Lens opacities were nuclear sclerotic in 17 eyes (65%) and posterior subcapsular in nine eyes (35%). Visual acuity improved an average of five lines, and final visual acuity was 20/50 or better in 13 eyes (50%). Visual acuity after cataract extraction closely paralleled the best visual acuity after vitreous surgery in all patients. Complications were tears in the posterior capsule in two eyes and postoperative vitreous hemorrhage in one eye. These complications did not limit final vision.