Autologous blood-assisted scleral fixation of intraocular lens

Abstract

In this technique, the lamellar scleral tunnel is fashioned to cover IOL haptics and autologous blood is used to close the conjunctiva, which alleviates the need for fibrin glue. The cornea is marked at four and 10'O clock meridian, and 2 mm incision is made on the conjunctiva. A lamellar scleral tunnel is fashioned 2 mm superior on one side and 2 mm inferior on the other side of this mark. The IOL is inserted into the anterior chamber and the haptics are exteriorized using bent 26-gauge hypodermic needle, flanged, and buried in the tunnel. A visible conjunctival blood vessel is punctured, allowing the blood to pool underneath the conjunctiva. The conjunctiva is approximated with the help of blood coagulum and allowed to remain dry for 3 min. Lamellar scleral tunnels give adequate cover to haptics, and autologous blood can be used to glue the conjunctival flaps instead of fibrin glue.

Keywords

• aphakia
• fibrin glue
• flanged iol
• glued iol
• scleral fixation