[Hyalokeratopathy of the corneal graft caused by spontaneous herniation of the vitreous (author's transl)].

Corneovitreal attachment represents a major risk to the corneal graft in aphakic eyes. A frequent event after cataract extraction is the hernia-like prolapse of the vitreous into the anterior chamber, sometimes up to the posterior surface of the cornea. Herniation of the vitreous can also occur when keratoplasty and cataract extraction are carried out simultaneously. If the vitreous adherens to the cornea, the young graft becomes opaque. The possibility of vitreous hernia is the most important objection against combined operation. In a few of our cases the cause of the opacification of the graft was corneovitreal contact following the spontaneous internal prolapse of the vitreous. Clear evidence of this was found in the course of reoperations. The opaque grafts obtained proved to be hyalokeratopathies histologically.