Intraocular Eyelash after an Uneventful Cataract Surgery: Case Report and Literature Review

The presence of an eyelash in the anterior chamber after an uneventful phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implant surgery is exceedingly rare, with 8 cases reported globally. We present a patient in whom an eyelash was found trapped in the main cornea wound at postoperation week 1 after an uneventful surgery and unremarkable postoperation day 1 review. The eyelash was removed immediately. The patient denied rubbing his eye and there is video evidence of an uneventful surgery with no eyelash in the anterior chamber at the end of the surgery. Interestingly, the orientation of the eyelash supports previous reports that the eyelash tends to migrate intraocularly through the cornea wound in one direction (i.e., with proximal end/follicle first), purportedly due to the cellular arrangement of an eyelash. Management of such cases should be undertaken on a case-by-case basis. The treatment strategy includes observation or prompt removal, either at the slit lamp or at the operating theatre, depending on a few factors including extent of ocular inflammation, time of presentation, eyelash contact with the cornea endothelium, and location of the eyelash. Patients should be reminded not to rub their eyes after cataract surgery.