An iris retractor made of two slender elements operatively coupled via a joining mechanism, wherein each slender element has an iris grabbing hook located at its distal end； and a handle located at the proximal end of the slender element, wherein the joining mechanism is configured to endow the iris retractor with at least two configurations: a retracted configuration and an expanded configuration, wherein the length of each slender element is between 4 mm to 14 mm.
