Elschnig&;s pearls are a sign of

After cataract It is also known as 'secondary cataract'. It is the opacity which persists or develops after extracapsular lens extraction. Causes: (i) Residual opaque lens matter may persist as after cataract when it is imprisoned between the remains of the anterior and posterior capsule, surrounded by fibrin (following iritis) or blood (following hyphaema). (ii) Proliferative type of after cataract may develop from the left-out anterior epithelial cells. The proliferative hyaline bands may sweep across the whole posterior capsule. Clinical types: After cataract may present as thickened posterior capsule, or dense membranous after cataract. Soemmering's ring: which refers to a thick ring of after cataract formed behind the iris, enclosed between the two layers of capsule. pearls: in which the vacuolated subcapsular epithelial cells are clustered like soap bubbles along the posterior capsule. Ref:- A K Khurana; pg num:-201