Cataract patients in a defined Swedish population, 1986 to 1990. V. Postoperative retinal detachments

K. Ninn-Pedersen and B. Bauer
Department of Ophthalmology, Lund (Sweden) University Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the risk of retinal detachment after cataract surgery. DESIGN: Prospective study from December 17, 1985, through December 31, 1992 of all cataract surgeries performed in a single referral region of the Lund (Sweden) Health Care District from December 17, 1985, through December 31, 1990. SETTING: The University Hospital of Lund. PATIENTS: Data were collected on 5878 consecutive cataract operations. The study population was complete enough to represent all cataract surgery in the referral region during this period. RESULTS: Two years after cataract surgery, the risk of retinal detachment was 0.18%. The follow-up period after cataract surgery in this study was up to 7 years, with a mean of 50.7 months (>4 years), and the total risk of retinal detachment or detachment-related conditions was 0.71%, all cases included. The relative risk of detachment was 4.9 after YAG laser capsulotomy. It changed by a factor of 1.3 with an increase in the axial length of 1 mm and by 0.94 for each added year of patient age. CONCLUSION: A young patient with axial myopia operated on because of cataract and postoperatively treated with YAG laser capsulotomy runs an important increased risk of developing retinal detachment.