Iridectomy

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Iridectomy (from iris and ancient Greek ἡ ἐκτομή hē ektomḗ "cutting out") was the name given to an eye operation in the 19th century that consisted of entering the anterior chamber through a 4 to 6 mm long puncture at the edge of the cornea with tweezers , grasped the iris at the pupillary margin or next to its adhesion with the cornea, pulled it out and cut it off outside the cornea with scissors.

The forerunner of iridectomy was an operation described by M. de Wenzel as early as 1786, in which the iris was excised within the eye, before Georg Joseph Beer developed the excision outside the eye in 1798.

It made the iridectomy in diseases of the iris, corneal opacities and as a preliminary operation in some cataract operations, but especially in glaucoma and the glaucoma . The iridectomy destroyed the pupil movements , so that such a pupil could no longer follow the light stimulus and the operated person was exposed to all the dangers of this if he did not understand how to replace the function of that muscle with the eyelid . To prevent this, an operation was proposed that only obscured the natural pupil, namely iridodesis . This consisted of making a 2 mm incision at the edge of the cornea and, when the aqueous humor drained off and the iris protruded as a result, grasping this part of the iris with the forceps and pulling it out so far that the pupil came to the point where it was you wanted them. The piece of iris that had been pulled forward was tied off with a thread.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Frank Krogmann: Iridectomy. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 681.
2. ↑ Schweigger: To iridectomy in glaucoma. Presented in the Berlin Medical Society on December 19. 1860. In: German Clinic. No. 52, 1860, ZDB -ID 517273-1 , pp. 508-509, quoted from: Revue der Wiener Medizinal-Halle. Yearbook of all practical medicine at home and abroad. Vol. 1, 1861, ZDB -ID 506679-7 , pp. 216-217 .
3. ^ Karl Stellwag von Carion : Textbook of practical ophthalmology. W. Braumüller, Vienna 1861, p. 182 .

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