Posterior fibrous pseudometaplasia of lens epithelial cells in phacic eyes filled with silicone oil.

Abstract

Today, intravitreal silicone oil injection is a standard procedure for complicated cases of retinal detachment. Although cataract formation is found frequently following this procedure only few studies deal with histological lens changes. We report histological findings including ultrastructural studies of a special variety of posterior subcapsular cataract formation in six human eyes filled with silicone oil. In the posterior subcapsular area of the lens we found spindle-shaped cells resembling fibroblasts which were, however, entirely surrounded by basement membrane (a feature of epithelial cells) and were associated with collagen fibrils (a feature of fibroblasts). We termed this phenomenon posterior fibrous pseudometaplasia of lens epithelium, since we presumed a posterior migration of lens epithelial cells followed by production of collagen by these cells, without actual transformation to fibroblasts, however. Silicone oil instillation may result in the development of posterior fibrous pseudometaplasia, which is the final common pathway of alteration of lens epithelium and which was interpreted as a partial change, or change of certain characteristics of posteriorly migrated lens epithelial cells due to metabolic alterations.