Retinal detachment following intracapsular cataract extraction. A 10-year follow-up study

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the incidence of and risk factors for retinal detachment during a 10-year follow-up on intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE). Methods: Retrospective analysis of medical records of 1041 eyes operated on with ICCE in the years 1984-86. A complete follow-up was achieved, and actuarial methods were used in the risk assessment. The risk time averaged 82 months. Results: Twenty-two (2.1%) eyes developed retinal detachment; half of the cases occurred during the first postoperative year, but new cases emerged throughout the period. The cumulative incidence of RD amounted to 2.8%; 95% confidence interval: 1.5-4.2%. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified younger age at surgery (relative risk for each 10-year increase in age = 06; 95% confidence interval: 0.39-0.95) and male gender (relative risk = 2.5; 95% confidence interval 1.04-6.04) as significant risk factors for RD. Eleven eyes, 50% of eyes with RD and 1% of the total number of eyes, lost useful vision in spite of retinal surgery. Conclusion: Even though the risk for both RD and an unfavourable result following retinal surgery may be smaller using contemporary surgical techniques, the present study indicates a substantial morbidity following cataract surgery, when a sufficiently long observation period is considered.