[Retinal detachment following implantation of a posterior chamber lens]

In a series of 6000 cases of pseudophakia following extracapsular cataract extraction and implantation of Simcoe-type posterior chamber lenses, observed for a minimum of 20 months, the incidence of retinal detachment was 21 cases (0.33%). Significant risk factors include male sex (18/21, 82%), high myopia (axial length, over 25 mm in men), intraoperative rupture and late discussion of the posterior capsule. The frequency of retinal detachment following intracapsular cataract extraction without lens implantation was four times greater than that after extracapsular cataract extraction with implantation of a posterior chamber lens. After intracapsular cataract extraction and implantation of an iris-fixation lens it was eight times greater. Horseshoe tears, most of which were located in the peripheral superior quadrants, were seen in 14 eyes (76%). In three eyes no holes were detected. Reattachment was less successful in eyes with posterior chamber implants than in phakic eyes with retinal detachments.