Skip to main content
PMC home page
The British Journal of Ophthalmology logoLink to The British Journal of Ophthalmology
. 2001 Feb;85(2):222–224. doi: 10.1136/bjo.85.2.222

Visual outcome following posterior capsule rupture during cataract surgery

A Ionides 1, D Minassian 1, S Tuft 1
PMCID: PMC1723855  PMID: 11159491

Abstract

AIM—To determine the relative risk of a poor visual outcome following posterior capsule rupture during cataract surgery.
METHODS—Prospective data were collected on consecutive eyes undergoing cataract extraction. The patient's age, preoperative visual acuity, ocular comorbidity, grade of surgeon, and operative complications were documented. The best spectacle corrected visual acuity was recorded at discharge from the hospital service.
RESULTS—From a total of 1533 cases, 1420 (92.6%) eyes had complete follow up data. Posterior capsule rupture occurred in 59 (4.1%) cases. Eyes with posterior capsule rupture were 3.8 times more likely to have a final best spectacle corrected visual acuity less than 6/12.
CONCLUSIONS—Eyes having posterior capsule rupture during cataract surgery have a significant risk of reduced visual acuity.



Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (100.6 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ah-Fat F. G., Sharma M. K., Majid M. A., Yang Y. C. Vitreous loss during conversion from conventional extracapsular cataract extraction to phacoemulsification. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1998 Jun;24(6):801–805. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(98)80134-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Balent A., Civerchia L. L., Mohamadi P. Visual outcome of cataract extraction and lens implantation complicated by vitreous loss. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1988 Mar;14(2):158–160. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(88)80089-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cerasoli J. R., Kasner D. A follow-up study of vitreous loss during cataract surgery managed by anterior vitrectomy. Am J Ophthalmol. 1971 May;71(5):1040–1043. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(71)90572-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cruz O. A., Wallace G. W., Gay C. A., Matoba A. Y., Koch D. D. Visual results and complications of phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation performed by ophthalmology residents. Ophthalmology. 1992 Mar;99(3):448–452. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(92)31954-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Desai P., Minassian D. C., Reidy A. National cataract surgery survey 1997-8: a report of the results of the clinical outcomes. Br J Ophthalmol. 1999 Dec;83(12):1336–1340. doi: 10.1136/bjo.83.12.1336. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Desai P. The National Cataract Surgery Survey: II. Clinical outcomes. Eye (Lond) 1993;7(Pt 4):489–494. doi: 10.1038/eye.1993.107. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Frost N. A., Sparrow J. M., Strong N. P., Rosenthal A. R. Vitreous loss in planned extracapsular cataract extraction does lead to a poorer visual outcome. Eye (Lond) 1995;9(Pt 4):446–451. doi: 10.1038/eye.1995.104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hingorani M., Wong T., Vafidis G. Patients' and doctors' attitudes to amount of information given after unintended injury during treatment: cross sectional, questionnaire survey. BMJ. 1999 Mar 6;318(7184):640–641. doi: 10.1136/bmj.318.7184.640. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Jaffe N. S., Clayman H. M., Jaffe M. S. Cystoid macular edema after intracapsular and extracapsular cataract extraction with and without an intraocular lens. Ophthalmology. 1982 Jan;89(1):25–29. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(82)34855-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Johansen J., Theodorsen F. P., Corydon L. Visual outcome following complicated extracapsular cataract extraction. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1992 Nov;18(6):577–581. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(13)80446-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Nishi O. Vitreous loss in posterior chamber lens implantation. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1987 Jul;13(4):424–427. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(87)80044-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Osher R. H., Cionni R. J. The torn posterior capsule: its intraoperative behavior, surgical management, and long-term consequences. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1990 Jul;16(4):490–494. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(13)80805-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Pearson P. A., Owen D. G., Maliszewski M., Smith T. J. Anterior chamber lens implantation after vitreous loss. Br J Ophthalmol. 1989 Aug;73(8):596–599. doi: 10.1136/bjo.73.8.596. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Siepser S. B., Kline O. R., Jr Aborted posterior chamber intraocular lens insertions: a "second Choyce". J Am Intraocul Implant Soc. 1984 Winter;10(1):51–52. doi: 10.1016/s0146-2776(84)80078-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Spigelman A. V., Lindstrom R. L., Nichols B. D., Lindquist T. D. Visual results following vitreous loss and primary lens implantation. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1989 Mar;15(2):201–204. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(89)80011-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Thomas R., Naveen S., Jacob A., Braganza A. Visual outcome and complications of residents learning phacoemulsification. Indian J Ophthalmol. 1997 Dec;45(4):215–219. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. VAIL D. AFTER-RESULTS OF VITREOUS LOSS. Am J Ophthalmol. 1965 Apr;59:573–586. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of Ophthalmology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES