[Aphakic retinal detachment in myopic eyes]

Abstract

The incidence of retinal detachment following cataract extraction was studied in a myopic population of 803 eyes, which were selected by a measurement of the axial length out of 3,184 cases consecutively operated on. The incidence of retinal detachment following intracapsular cataract extraction was 1.5%, which was very similar to that after extracapsular cataract extraction: 1.8%, in the lowest range of date published in the literature. The incidence of retinal detachment of the pseudophakic myopic eye (operated on with the extracapsular technique, combined with implantation of a posterior chamber lens, the PMMA optic disc, diameter 5.8 mm with a 10 degrees angulated haptic and modified prolene-C loops) was 1.1%, in which the cases of intraoperative posterior capsule rupture with vitreous loss were included. There was no correlation between the incidence of retinal detachment and axial length. All cases of retinal detachment appeared in eyes with an axial length of 24.2 to 27.0 mm. In 9 of 11 (75%), retinal detachments occurred during the first 18 months after cataract extraction. In our opinion extracapsular cataract extraction with implantation of a posterior chamber lens is the best method of providing postoperative retinal detachment of the cataractous myopic eye. The question of the incidence of retinal detachment following cataract removal by the extracapsular technique and secondary capsulotomy by the Nd-YAG laser is still interesting.