ABSTRACT

There are two main types of cataract surgery. The first is known as intracapsular cataract surgery (ICCE), and involves total removal of the crystalline lens. This was the surgical treatment of choice in the modern era up to the mid-1970s, but the removal of the whole lens limits the potential support and location for a replacement lens. Under those circumstances the replacement lens either had to be clipped in the pupil (iris-supported lens) or braced across the anterior chamber of the eye, where it had significant potential for causing corneal destruction and uveal tissue irritation (iritis).