CataractSurgeryProblem

[armida]

69 female in relative good health.  No meds.  Had cataract surgery.  Piece of natural lens left at 12:00.  Dense, strongly attached to eye "membrane".  Left behind to avoid tearing.  Expected drops to soften and/or dissolve piece.  Expected piece to move sideways.  Moved straight down and now "stuck" mid eye resulting in "whiteout".  Dr. expects continued softening and will re-enter and "vacuum".  Is this common?  Solution?  Thanks In Advance

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

Not necessarily a very good situation. THis is an unusual complication perhaps occuring in about 1 in 1000 cases or so.  Sometimes it can be easier to remove the retained cortex after a period of time of a week or two but you may have lost some confidence in your surgeon after the original complication.  Generally the best thing in this situation is to get the retained cortex out as soon as possible and as safely as possible using the irrigation aspiration handpiece.  You will need to use an extra amount of anti-inflammatory drops in the meantime and often there are pressure problems as well. If your surgeon is not confident in doing the job well, you might want to consider a second opinion with another surgeon or even a retinal specialist.

MJK MD

[armida]

What does an irrigation aspiration for removal or retained cortex entail exactly?  Are you taking out and replacing fluid?  Does that require a specialist?  Looking online for retained cortex solutions kinda scary.  Time for correcting seems to be important.  Approaching two weeks since initial surgery.  Confidence in Dr. down and will seek second opinion.  Thank you for response.