Triple treatment therapy for congenital stromal iris cyst.

Background: Iris cyst can lead to iridocyclitis, angle closure, secondary glaucoma, corneal decompensation, band keratopathy, cataract, subluxation of the lens, or visual disturbance leading to amblyopia or strabismus. Incomplete removal of cyst can lead to recurrence. Recurrent surgeries are more complicated and compromise prognosis. So, complete removal of cyst with minimal anatomical disturbances is essential for better outcomes.

Purpose: To define a new technique of triple treatment therapy for iris cyst management.

Synopsis: Iris cyst was treated in three steps. In the first step, iris cyst aspiration followed by cyst cavity treatment with mitomycin-C was done. After that, cyst cavity was irrigated with balanced salt solution (BSS). In the second step, the anterior cyst wall was removed with a vitrectomy cutter. In the third step, the posterior cyst wall was cauterized with diathermy.

Highlights: In this technique, we chose a minimally invasive approach utilizing two 1-mm incisions leading to less astigmatism. Iridectomy was not performed, which led to a small iris defect postoperatively, and pupilloplasty was not required. Injection of mitomycin-C led to destruction of the cyst wall, and diathermy further reduced the chance of recurrence by destroying the cyst base. Postoperatively, mild corneal edema was noted, which resolved in 1 week. Topical steroids were given to control postoperative inflammation. No recurrence has been noted till 6 months of follow-up. The more conservative approach seemed to result in better visual outcomes.

Discussion: Wide varieties of approaches are available for iris cysts, like laser cystotomy, aspiration, diathermy, cryotherapy, injection of sclerosing agents, and surgery.[1] Yu et al.[2] treated iris cyst in a 60-year-old female with cyst content aspiration using 30G needle, followed by injection of 0.0002 mg/ml mitomycin-C in the cavity for 5 min. BSS wash was given five times at the end. They noted a decrease of 13.3% in endothelial cell count following the procedure. They speculate that transient application of MMC can cause permanent damage to the epithelial and goblet cells that secrete cyst fluid, hence resulting in regression of the cyst. Similarly, Kawaguchi et al.[3] aspirated cyst fluid with a 30G needle and left 0.3 ml of 10-3 mg/ml mitomycin-C for 5 min in the cavity, followed by BSS wash in a 32-year-old female with recurrent iris cyst. They reported a decrease of 4% in endothelial cell count postprocedure. Shen et al.[4] used micro diathermy to treat residual cyst wall attached to the endothelium and base of cyst in four cases. In our case, we have combined cyst aspiration, mitomycin-C, excision using vitrectomy cutter, and diathermy. No recurrence has been observed at the longest follow-up of 3 years. However, a small sample size and less duration of follow-up are the limitations to call it the best approach.

Video link: https://youtu.be/EC6WA2TiaAE.