Retinal detachment following phacoemulsification

We reviewed the characteristics of 100 retinal detachments which followed phacoemulsification. The characteristics of retinal breaks and the configurations of the detachments were in general similar to cases of retinal detachments following intracapsular surgery. There was a suggestion that detachments occurring within 6 months of cataract surgery appeared to be statistically different from those occurring more than 1 year following phacoemulsification. The former group of detachments tended to be more 'phakic' in nature than those occurring relatively late. The surgical reattachment rates in these eyes compared favorably to previously published figures on the repair or retinal detachment following intracapsular surgery.