Retinal detachment following neodymium-YAG laser capsulotomy

Five patients developed retinal detachments within one month of undergoing neodymium-YAG laser posterior capsulotomy. In four patients rhegmatogenous retinal detachments developed in association with typical aphakic breaks; in the fifth patient a previously stable extramacular traction detachment extended into the fovea. In all five patients scleral buckling or vitrectomy successfully reattached the retina and visual acuity improved. None of the findings associated with the detachments could be definitely attributed to the YAG laser. These included the lack of structural or positional changes in the vitreous as well as the absence of retinal damage. We were unable to learn the specific settings used for each laser but were told that the minimum energy levels needed to produce a capsulotomy were used.