“Show me the way” - Endoilluminator-assisted manual small-incision cataract surgery in a case of corneal scar with a small pupil

Cataracts with coexisting corneal opacities due to various causes present a daunting challenge to surgeons. Adding to the plight could be factors like shallow anterior chamber, small pupil and mono-ocular patient. A manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS) could be a saviour in such situations. We demonstrate a case of post perforation corneal scar secondary to Hansen’s disease with complicated cataract with non-dilating pupil in a bilaterally blind patient. Due to poor visualisation, there could have been difficulties in capsulorrhexsis, cortex aspiration & many other intraoperative manoeuvres, but use of an endo illuminator providing oblique illumination was very useful, resulting in uneventful surgery with good visual outcome. MSCICS, a surgery with minimal instrumentation, short learning curve and comparable results to phacoemulsification is perhaps the preferred procedure, in India, for complicated cataracts with multiple pre-existing pathologies