Surgical vitrectomy for pseudophakic malignant glaucoma.

Four eyes that had undergone cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation developed malignant glaucoma. Three eyes had posterior chamber lenses and one eye had an anterior chamber lens. Medical therapy was unsuccessful in each case. One eye was treated with Nd-YAG laser disruption of the anterior hyaloid face, but this did not reverse the glaucoma. In all four eyes pars plana vitrectomy reversed the glaucoma process. In the eyes with posterior chamber lenses, the vitrectomy included excision of a localized area of lens capsule and zonules. A pathway for the anterior flow of aqueous was created without dislocating the intraocular lens.