The management of lens damage in perforating corneal lacerations.

Lens damage is present in 30% of perforating injuries of the anterior segment of the eye. There is no consensus on whether the cataractous lens should be removed at the initial repair of the corneal laceration or later, when the eye has recovered from injury. Twenty-seven consecutive cases with a perforating corneal injury and lens damage were alternatively treated either with simultaneous corneal suturing and cataract removal or with corneal suturing and delayed cataract removal several weeks later. The difference in the frequency of complications between the 2 groups was significant. The 1-step procedure was technically easier to perform, the period of postoperative irritation was shorter, complications due to the presence of an injured lens were prevented, and visual rehabilitation occurred earlier.