Persistent Fetal Vasculature with Cataract

Dr. Priya Narang performs a cataract extraction in a 15-year-old patient with unilateral persistent fetal vasculature (PFV). The condition rarely presents this late in life, but the patient did not experience any other anomalies apart from PFV, and the fellow eye had 20/20 vision. The remnant vascular stalk or the persistent hyaloid artery is seen attached to the posterior surface of the lens capsule but it does not extend back to the optic nerve. After phacoemulsification, endodiathermy of the fetal vasculature is performed to prevent intraoperative hyphema. The thick plaques are cut with micro-scissors, and vitrectomy is performed to prevent the vitreous prolapse into the anterior chamber.  As this was a unilateral case, Dr. Narang places a multifocal toric IOL in the capsular bag to simultaneously restore near and distance vision while attempting to maintain binocular vision.

Relevant Financial Disclosures: None