The Utility of Peripheral Vitrectomy Featuring Scleral Indentation during Scleral Fixation of Intraocular Lenses

Purpose: We evaluated the utility of peripheral vitrectomy featuring scleral indentation; we compared a group who underwent peripheral vitrectomy to a control group for whom vitrectomy was combined with scleral fixation of intraocular lenses (IOLs) in patients exhibiting IOL dislocations. Methods: From January 2018 to December 2020, 20 eyes of patients evidencing IOL dislocations that underwent total vitrectomy, IOL removal, and IOL scleral fixation were evaluated; peripheral vitrectomy with scleral indentation was performed in 10 patients. All operations were performed by the same surgeon. We excluded patients with follow-up periods less than 6 months, those with a history of retinal and/or glaucoma surgery, and patients with retinal abnormalities or glaucoma that might significantly compromise visual acuity. The postoperative best-corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, astigmatism changes, and complications were retrieved from the medical records. Results: Six months after surgery, the best corrected visual acuity was 0.95 (the Snellen measure) in the group who underwent peripheral vitrectomy featuring scleral indentation, and 0.60 in the control group (p = 0.029). The total astigmatism values were 0.48 diopter in the former and 2.80 diopter in the latter group; the difference was significant (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In patients with IOL dislocations who underwent vitrectomy combined with IOL scleral fixation, improvements in visual acuity were further enhanced when peripheral vitrectomy was combined with scleral indentation. Complete removal of the peripheral vitreous may stabilize IOL positioning by the remnant vitreous.