Secondary intraocular fixation: anterior vs. posterior segment approaches, middle segment surgery, and emerging artificial capsule technologies

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review current and emerging advances in secondary intraocular lens (IOL) fixation in the absence of capsular support, emphasizing contemporary techniques, surgical outcomes, complication, and decision making across anterior segment-based, posterior segment-based, and iris-based approaches, while discussing the growing role of middle segment surgery. RECENT FINDINGS: Practice patterns have shifted away from anterior chamber IOLs toward posterior chamber fixation, driven by advances in small-gauge vitrectomy, improved suture materials, refined scleral-fixation strategies, and dedicated fixation IOL designs. Contemporary options include anterior chamber IOLs, iris-sutured and iris-claw lenses, sutured scleral fixation using polypropylene or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (Gore-Tex), and sutureless intrascleral haptic fixation techniques such as the Yamane method. Comparative evidence suggests that no single technique is universally superior, rather, procedures demonstrate broadly similar visual outcomes but distinct complication profiles. Middle segment surgery, proposing pars plana-based management of lens and capsular pathology by anterior segment surgeons has gained recent attention. In parallel, early clinical experience with artificial capsule technologies suggests a potential pathway to restore a capsular-like scaffold, expand IOL options, and improve refractive predictability. SUMMARY: Modern techniques have improved safety and outcomes of secondary IOL fixation. Surgical choice should be individualized, and emerging technologies may further redefine posterior chamber reconstruction.