Cataract surgery after expulsive choroidal hemorrhage in the fellow eye

Expulsive choroidal hemorrhage (ECH) is a dramatic and serious complication of cataract surgery that occurred in four of 8,285 consecutive cataract operations performed at the Jules Stein Eye Institute from 1970 to 1983, an incidence of 0.05%. This report reviews six patients who had uncomplicated cataract surgery after an expulsive choroidal hemorrhage occurred during cataract operation in the fellow eye. Factors predisposing to ECH are considered, and recommendations to minimize the risk of this complication during preoperative, operative, and postoperative periods are presented.