Incidence of retinal detachment following Nd:YAG capsulotomy after cataract surgery

In a retrospective study, we reviewed 218 consecutive Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomies performed at the Gimbel Eye Centre between June 1987 and November 1989 for the incidence of retinal detachment (RD) following treatment. Matched controls were found for 198 YAG cases. The median post-surgical follow-up for the YAG cases was 49.5 months; for the controls, 50.0 months. The median time between cataract extraction and YAG laser posterior capsulotomy was 24.8 months. The median follow-up after YAG was 24.2 months. Two of the 198 YAG cases (1.0%) and one of the 198 controls (0.5%) had RD. In the YAG cases, RD occurred 54.8 and 36.5 months after cataract surgery; in the control cases, 51.8 months after cataract surgery. Retinal detachment occurred at 15.0 and 17.0 months after YAG capsulotomy. These rates were lower than those reported in the literature. We feel that the surgical techniques of continuous circular capsulorhexis and in-the-bag IOL placement reduce the risk of RD following Nd:YAG posterior capsulotomy.