Recalcitrant malignant glaucoma following pars plana vitrectomy, scleral buckle, and extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation.

Pars plana vitrectomy is employed to treat cases of aqueous misdirection that are refractory to medical and laser treatment. The authors describe a 65-year-old man without previous aqueous misdirection in whom this condition developed after a procedure that included pars plana vitrectomy. The aqueous misdirection recurred despite multiple interventions, including medical treatment, transiently successful Nd:YAG laser capsulo-hyaloidotomy, and surgical disruption of the anterior hyaloid face. It finally resolved after repeated pars plana vitrectomy with hyaloido-capsulo-iridectomy. There has been no recurrence 7 months after this procedure. The authors conclude that the surgical treatment of aqueous misdirection refractory to more conservative measures should include adequate disruption of the anterior hyaloid to prevent recurrence.