Lest we forget--or, every procedure carries risk

In 1980 a 71-year-old white female had a cataract extraction with insertion of a posterior chamber lens. Postoperative visual acuity was 20/20, J1. Two years following her first operation, the patient was admitted to the hospital as a day surgery patient; using a two-needle technique an uncomplicated discission of a secondary cataract was performed in the operating room. Vision improved from 20/100 to 20/40. Four days later, she developed an endophthalmitis.