Abstract:  The crystalline lens plays a pivotal role in the etiology of primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG).  Recent anatomical, clinical and epidemiological studies revealed that lens extraction alone deepened the anterior chamber, widened the drainage angle and lowered the intraocular pressure in PACG. In recent years, clinicians have tried clear lens extraction in treating PACG, especially for those patients who were reluctant to accept the risk of complications of trabeculectomy. However, choice of surgical indication, the higher cost of phacoemulsification, the technical challenges of phacoemulsification, the loss of accommodation after surgery and the fear of over-treatment made the role of clear lens extraction as a treatment for PACG controversial. (Ophthalmol CHN, 2013, 22: 6-9) 

Key words: primary angle- closure glaucoma, clear lens, phacoemulsification