Necrotizing scleritis of scleral flaps after transscleral suture fixation of an intraocular lens

A 56-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis underwent intracapsular cataract extraction and sulcus fixation of an intraocular lens using transscleral fixation sutures buried under partial-thickness scleral flaps. Necrotizing scleritis confined to the area of the scleral flaps developed one month postoperatively, resulting in exposure and loosening of one fixation suture and lens implant decentration. The scleritis responded to systemic prednisone and cyclophosphamide treatment, with healing in two weeks. The final visual acuity was 20/30. Surgical trauma may stimulate local intravascular immune complex deposition and initiate the inflammatory process, thereby leading to necrotizing scleritis. This process should be considered when contemplating the use of scleral flaps in patients with collagen vascular disease and systemic vasculitis.