Steroid-Responsive Intraocular Lens Deposits: A Case-Based Review of Diagnosis and Management.

The standard surgical procedure for treating cataracts uses intraocular lens (IOL) implants that produce consistent results. Among millions of global cases annually, postoperative complications involving IOL surface deposits occur in less than 1% of patients. The diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in delayed-onset sterile IOL precipitates remain significant because these complications are both uncommon and present atypically. The presented review examines an unusual case where fibrotic gray-white deposits formed on the anterior IOL surface eight months post-surgery without any intraocular inflammatory indicators. Visual acuity declined from the condition until topical corticosteroids provided a dramatic response, which proved the sterile inflammatory origin of the condition. The presented case establishes a base for discussing the pathophysiology, classification, differential diagnosis, and management of IOL surface deposits. The proper diagnosis of IOL surface deposits requires clinicians to differentiate them from genuine lens opacification as well as from both infectious endophthalmitis and toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) because incorrect diagnoses could lead to unnecessary surgical procedures. The review discusses how patients with previous uveitis experience clinical effects and investigates the predictive power of statistical and AI-based models for identifying at-risk cases, as well as future needs for IOL design and postoperative imaging research. The appropriate management of sterile IOL deposits remains essential to protect vision and prevent invasive interventions, particularly for patients who have complex inflammatory backgrounds.