Post-vitrectomy cataract acceleration in phakic eyes: a review.

Vitrectomy is considered the standard therapy for the treatment of posterior segment disease; however, after a significant improvement of the visual acuity, there is a reduction in visual acuity due to cataract formation, which requires further surgery. Nuclear sclerotic cataract (NSC) is the most common type of cataract seen after vitrectomy. The pathogenesis of post-vitrectomy NSC is unclear; several hypotheses have been formulated without any conclusions. In order to correct post-vitrectomy NSC, phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation is performed. This surgery itself has some complications, such as longer surgical time and the increased risk of capsular rupture as compared to phacoemulsification done alone. In this review, different hypotheses proposed by different authors in their studies and possible measures that are known so far to prevent post-vitrectomy NSC are discussed along with its treatments and their complications. Moreover, we aim to describe the pathophysiology of the formation of post-vitrectomy NSC.