Eye Diseases and Conditions Slideshow Pictures Pink Eye Slideshow Pictures Cataracts Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Brian R Sullivan, MD

Medical Editor:

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist. Dr. Dahl's educational background includes a BA with Honors and Distinction from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, and an MD from Cornell University, where he was selected for Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. He had an internal medical internship at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.

View Full Profile

Lens-Particle Glaucoma Causes

Lens-particle glaucoma can develop when fragmented lens debris is retained inside the eye following surgery or injury/trauma. Without surgery or injury/trauma, lens-particle glaucoma cannot develop, and it is not associated with the natural lens becoming dislocated from its normal position. Some examples of how lens-particle glaucoma may occur following surgery or injury/trauma are as follows:

• The outer soft layer of the lens (cortex) may not be completely removed during cataract surgery.



• The nucleus or nuclear fragments may become dislocated during cataract surgery.



• The lens capsule's integrity may be intentionally or inadvertently compromised during other types of intraocular surgery (for example, vitrectomy, laser capsulotomy, glaucoma filtration surgery).



• The lens capsule can be damaged, ruptured, or dislocated due to eye injury/trauma.

Lens debris retained inside the eye spontaneously fragments into small (sometimes invisible to an examining doctor) particles that eventually migrate into the anterior chamber. There, they obstruct the flow of fluid (aqueous humor) from the eye, resulting in increased IOP and a possible progression to glaucoma.

It should be noted that a variety of conditions may cause elevation of IOP following injury or surgery, and the specific diagnosis of lens-particle glaucoma is determined by an ophthalmologist by means of examination and testing (see below).

Lens-particle glaucoma is only one of a group of conditions called lens-related of lens-induced glaucoma. Other diseases in this group include glaucoma due to lens swelling, lens dislocation, pupillary block, and phacolytic glaucoma.