[Complications following Nd: YAG laser posterior capsulotomy]

We used neodymium-YAG laser to perform discissions of the posterior capsules in 221 eyes of 203 patients who had undergone previous extracapsular cataract extractions. After a follow-up period ranging from 1-96 months, in the mean 10.5 months, 47.06% of the eyes achieved corrected visual acuities of > or = 0.5. The complications included rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in 3 eyes (1.36%) and bullous keratopathy in one eye (0.45%). Although cystoid macular edema and glaucoma were not seen in this series, they had been reported. The author suggests that patients undergoing Nd: YAG laser capsulotomies require ongoing medical observations to detect and treat these complications.