The anterior pole corresponds to the outermost part of the eye, i.e. the cornea, lens, iris, conjunctiva and eyelids.
When is anterior pole surgery necessary?
It is recommended when there are alterations in any of the anatomical structures of the eye.
The most frequent are: cataracts generally related to age, high tension glaucoma, low tension glaucoma, pterygium, corneal infections, conjunctival infections, chalazion, sties, etc.
What does the surgery of these anatomical structures consist of?
The specialist in Ophthalmology will assess the most appropriate treatment according to the patient鈥檚 case, the main ones are:
- Cataract surgery, with intraocular lens implantation.
- Glaucoma surgery: basically it is to make a way out of the aqueous humor into the subconjunctival space.
- Pterygium: the area of vessel growth towards the cornea is removed, with an exhaustive cleaning of the affected cornea and conjunctiva.
What are the risks of these surgeries?
Each of them has its own risks, with different severity depending on the case.
What we are most concerned about are possible infections, which nowadays are very rare due to the pre-surgical and post-surgical prophylaxis that is performed. Especially in cataract or glaucoma surgery.
On the other hand, macular edema can occur after cataract surgery, although it is very rare due to the preparation of the eye and the post-surgical treatment.
Another risk is intraocular bleeding, also very rare, which resolves easily, unless it is subretinal, which is slower.