Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9570
ISSN: 2155-9570
Domagoj Ivastinovic
Medical University of Graz, Austria
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Clin Exp Ophthalmol
Retinal detachment (RD) occurs in ~1% of pseudophakic population per year whereas in phakic population RD is observed in ~0.01% per year. This difference indicates that cataract surgery significantly increases the risk for RD. Thereby the age seems to play an important role. For example, among pseudophakic eyes the population younger than 50 years is at significantly higher risk for RD than those older than 80 years of age. The reason therefore is the postoperative alteration of the vitreous including liquefaction and subsequent posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). Commonly, in people younger than 50 years the vitreous is still attached whereas in those older than 80 years the vitreous is completely detached. Several years ago we showed that cataract surgery accelerates the PVD process potentially causing traction, retinal tears and RD. In detail, we found that uneventful cataract surgery in eyes with completely attached vitreous promoted some degree of PVD in 71.4% of eyes after 3 months and in even 100% of eyes after 12 months. Vitrectomy is the most beneficial treatment method in pseudophakic RD. However, even after a successful surgery the visual acuity remains between 0.3 and 0.4 logMAR. In conclusion, cataract surgery promotes vitreous changes leading to PVD and occasionally traction and RD. Especially young people are at a significant risk for RD following cataract surgery. Although RD can be successfully treated with vitrectomy the final visual acuity sometimes remains discouraging. Therefore, young population should be scheduled for cataract surgery only in case of significant cataract.