Finding the retinal hole in the pseudophakic eye with detachment.

The recently developed wide-field indirect contact lenses, recommended and used for pancoagulation of the retina posterior to the equator, have proved to be unexpectedly advantageous for finding retinal breaks anterior to the equator in the pseudophakic eye. Through a 6-mm pupil, it is possible with some ocular rotations, tilting of the lens, and scleral depression to bring into view the retina anterior to the equator and frequently the ora serrata. We found or confirmed 45 small retinal breaks anterior to the equator in 24 retinal detachments in pseudophakic eyes with the wide-field indirect contact lens. The indirect contact lens eliminates the blur that occurs when viewing through the edge of the intraocular lens, and its image suffers less interference from lens and capsular opacities.