Retinal detachment in myopic eyes after intracapsular and extracapsular cataract extraction

We analyzed two consecutive series of cataract extractions in patients with moderate to severe myopia for the incidence of postoperative retinal detachment. One series consisted of 122 intracapsular cataract extractions without surgical loss of vitreous and the other series consisted of 151 extracapsular (phacoemulsification and planned extracapsular) cataract extractions without loss of vitreous and with intact posterior capsules. All patients were 40 years of age or older and all were followed up for one to four years. We defined moderate to severe myopia as an aphakic refraction of +7.00 diopters spherical equivalent or less. The rate of postoperative retinal detachment was greater in the intracapsular series (seven of 122 cases; 5.74%) than in the extracapsular series (one of 151 cases; 0.66%).