Iris-claw Intraocular Lens Implantation: A Hospital-Based Prospective Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy

Objective: Because the peripheral iris is jailed between the claws, the iris-claw lens may be fixed to the iris without using sutures, therefore implantation just takes a few minutes. As a result, the hypotonic open sky period is reduced as compared to combination surgery. The purpose of this study was to see how safe and effective retropupillary iris-claw intraocular lens insertion was in our facility.

Methods: In this prospective investigation, 36 eyes with aphakia without capsular support were included. All of the patients were thoroughly examined before receiving retropupillary iris-claw intraocular lens implantation

Results: The mean age of patients was 63.6 years with SD of 10.5 years. Highest number of patients were in the age group of 60-70 years (46%). The mean follow-up of patients was 3.1 years ranging from one month to six years. Out of 36 eyes, 25 (69%) eyes had visual acuity of 6/9, five (14%) eyes had 6/12, three eyes (8%) had 6/6 vision, two eyes had 6/24 and one presented with only perception of light and projection of rays. Subconjunctival bleeding was the most prevalent postoperative complication, occurring in 13 (36%) of patients. Due to pupillary obstruction, two eyes acquired secondary glaucoma in the postoperative period. One eye showed signs of retinal detachment. Until the latest follow-up, we had not noticed any cases of bullous keratopathy, infection, or cystoid macular edoema.

Conclusion: According to our findings and those of other research, retropupillary iris-claw implantation in such patients is the safest and most successful therapy option currently available.