ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1669380
Investigation of the Biomechanical Changes at the Iris-Lens Interface after Vitrectomy with Silicone Oil Tamponade: Insights from Ultrasound Biomicroscopy
Provisionally accepted
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
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Purpose: To investigate anterior segment biomechanical changes and lens stability following pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) combined with silicone oil (SO) tamponade using ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM). Methods: A prospective cohort study enrolled 58 patients (60 eyes) with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (18 eyes) or diabetic tractional retinal detachment (42 eyes). UBM parameters—including central corneal thickness (CCT), anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens vault (LV), angle-opening distance at 500 μm from the scleral spur (AOD500), trabecular-iris angle (TIA), iris-lens angle (ILA), and iris-lens contact distance (ILCD)—were measured preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. Subgroup analyses compared outcomes between normotensive and hypertensive groups. Results: At 3 months after surgery, UBM demonstrated significant reductions in CCT (−0.026 mm, P=0.005), superior ILCD (0.921 → 0.730 mm, P=0.006), inferior ILCD (0.914 → 0.702 mm, P=0.002), and mean ILCD across quadrants (0.947 → 0.745 mm, P=0.001). Quadrant-specific changes in the ILA were observed, with an increase inferiorly (20.31° → 23.39°, P=0.032) and a decrease temporally (20.70° → 18.29°, P=0.047), although these did not remain significant after Bonferroni correction. Subgroup analysis revealed that eyes with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) exhibited greater nasal ILA enlargement (ΔILA: +5.38° vs. −0.88°, adjusted P=0.032) and a trend toward greater temporal ILCD reduction. Multiple regression confirmed a positive correlation between postoperative IOP and nasal ΔILA (β=0.353, P=0.002). Conclusion: Long-term observations in patients following PPV with SO tamponade have revealed biomechanical alterations at the iris-lens interface. Postoperative multifactorial influences contribute to compromised lens stability, providing critical anatomical guidance for cataract surgical techniques in SO-filled eyes.
Keywords: iris-lens interface, Anterior segment parameter, Pars plana vitrectomy, silicone oil, Ultrasound biomicroscopy
Received: 19 Jul 2025; Accepted: 19 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Wang, Tao, Xue, Wang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Fenglei Wang, wflaiyy@126.com
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