Phacoemulsification in total white cataract with Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

Cataract surgery with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (S-J) is associated with a high incidence of complications and can worsen the primary disease. We report a case of phacoemulsification of a total, white cataract barely visible through the vascularized, keratinized cornea in the only seeing eye of a patient with S-J syndrome. We describe the intra-operative difficulties encountered during phacoemulsification and the surgical tools and techniques employed to overcome the surgical difficulties. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient regained useful, navigational vision.