Gore-Tex Suture-Associated Endophthalmitis in a Scleral-Sutured Intraocular Lens.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To describe a unique case of Gore-Tex (Gore Medical, Arizona, USA), suture-associated delayed-onset endophthalmitis in a patient with a history of scleromalacia, pathologic myopia, multiple prior vitrectomies in the setting of an scleral sutured intraocular lens. METHODS: Retrospective case report. PATIENT A 69-year-old man complained of blurry vision and eye pain 21 months after implantation of a scleral-sutured intraocular lens and was found to have an exposed Gore-Tex suture with scleromalacia, vision loss to hand motion, a hypopyon and vitritis. He was diagnosed with culture-positive endophthalmitis. He had a previous history of a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair and subsequent dislocated intraocular lens in this eye treated with a scleral sutured intraocular lens. A vitreous tap and injection of broad-spectrum antibiotics and suture removal at the slit lamp were performed at the time of presentation. One week later he later underwent pars plana vitrectomy and removal of the intraocular lens. RESULTS: Following the tap and inject and subsequent lens removal, his vision has returned to his pre-operative vision of 20/100 with refraction. DISCUSSION: Gore-Tex suture is a non-absorbable and flexible option with great tensile strength that has emerged as a favored alternative to polypropylene for the use in transscleral fixated intraocular lenses. While endophthalmitis and suture erosion are known complications of this procedure, this report describes one of the first cases of Gore-Tex associated-endophthalmitis.