A prospective study of angiographic cystoid macular edema one year after Nd: YAG posterior capsulotomy

We prospectively studied 120 eyes with intact opacified posterior capsules in 120 consecutive patients to determine the incidence of new late-onset angiographic cystoid macular edema (CME) after neodynium: yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser posterior capsulotomy. Fifty-seven of 120 patients (48%) had both precapsulotomy and one-year post-capsulotomy angiograms done. Of these 57 patients, three eyes had angiographic CME before capsulotomy and two of these three cases had persistent CME one year after capsulotomy. In the other 54 patients, three new late-onset cases occurred (5.6%). Because the incidence of postcapsulotomy new CME was low, the statistical significance of possible risk factors, such as rupture of the anterior hyaloid face or pseudophakic status cannot be determined. However, aphakic patients with vitreous prolapse after capsulotomy tended to have a higher incidence to CME than pseudophakic patients. We recommend fluorescein angiography to identify occult CME in cases of unexplained visual-acuity decrease after capsulotomy.