Acute serous macular detachment and edema after uncomplicated phacoemulsification: A case series

To report cases of acute serous macular detachment and edema after uncomplicated phacoemulsification.

Retrospective case series.

We reviewed the clinical data of 5 patients who developed an acute serous macular detachment and edema after uncomplicated phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation by the same expert surgeon and without any complication during surgery.

Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), biomicroscopy, fundus examination, and optical coherence tomography were performed at 1, 3, 7, and 30 postoperative days.

On the first postoperative day, all eyes had low visual acuity (median 1.0 logMAR) despite normal postoperative appearance of the anterior segment. Optical coherence tomography showed serous macular detachment with intraretinal fluid accumulation. After treatment with oral indomethacin and acetazolamide, at 7 days, intraretinal and subretinal fluid were fully reabsorbed and BCVA improved (at least 0.1 logMAR). In the following 6 months, no eye had recurrence of macular edema.

Acute serous macular detachment and edema can occur after uncomplicated phacoemulsification. It should be considered in cases of low visual acuity during the early postoperative period.