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Foldable artificial iris may help traumatic aniridia patients

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ATLANTA — A foldable artificial iris may be a viable treatment for patients with trauma-induced aniridia, a surgeon said here.

"This is the first general purpose, really realistic iris replacement," Hans-Reinhard Koch, MD, said at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting. "With this technique, we were able to restore some irises that did look awfully terrible."

The implant is sutured in an aphakic or pseudophakic eye without a capsule. In a pseudophakic eye with an intact capsule, the crystalline lens is removed by phacoemulsification, an IOL is inserted in the capsular bag and an artificial iris is fixated in the sulcus, Dr. Koch said.

Potential complications include detachment, hemorrhage, corneal decompensation and glaucoma. However, corneal decompensation has diminished since implant fixation was improved, Dr. Koch said.