Iris retractor for use with cryoextractors.

CRYOEXTRACTION has been established as a safe, indeed the safest, method of removing the cataractous lens. Numerous instruments have been designed for this purpose. Certain problems tend to present during this operation, in spite of careful attention to the preparation: (a) Even when the pupil is widely dilated at the start of the operation, it tends to become smaller during the opening of the eye and the performance of the iridectomy. (b) The problem of the tight pupil that shows a minimal response to the instillation of mydriatics is virtually insurmountable. (c) The use of intra-cameral mydriatics at the time of the operation causes an unavoidable and annoying delay. (d) Performing a full iridectomy does not reduce the danger of adhesion of the iris to the extractor tip. The only complete solution to these problems is the use of an adequate and suitable iris retractor. It is the purpose of this paper to describe such an instrument. The instrument (Figure) has a right-hand blade at one end of the handle and a left-hand blade at the other end. Each blade has a flat scleral flange and a retractor blade, the concavity of which conforms to that of the scleral lip of the corneo-scleral wound. The width of the blade is about 6 mm. chord of arc, providing a suitably wide area for manipulation of the extractor while keeping the iris safely out of the way.