Removal of the lens is often performed during pars plana vitrectomy for complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, but correction of aphakia often remains unsatisfactory. Some authors have reported posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation during pars plana vitrectomy in diabetic patients who presented with coexisting cataract and vitreoretinal complications from proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Some patients were operated by pars plana lensectomy and vitrectomy followed by posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation in the ciliary sulcus, others by extracapsular extraction, posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation in the ciliary sulcus, and pars plana vitrectomy. Other authors have described phacoemulsification through the limbus, pars plana vitrectomy and implantation in the capsular bag in one operation in various indications, including complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. We inserted a posterior chamber intraocular lens into the capsular bag in 18 eyes of 16 patients with complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy after extracapsular cataract extraction and pars plana vitrectomy in a single session. A standard extracapsular cataract extraction was performed before pars plana vitrectomy. Sufficient anterior capsule was left in place in order to facilitate implantation in the capsular bag after pars plana vitrectomy. The anterior chamber was filled with sodium hyaluronate in order to maintain anterior chamber depth, corneal clarity, and good mydriasis during the continuation of the procedure. A standard three port pars plana vitrectomy was performed in all cases. After closure of superior sclerotomies, superior corneal incision was partially reopened, an intraocular lens specifically designed for the capsular bag with an optic size of 7 mm was inserted, and the corneal incision was closed with interrupted 10/0 sutures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)