Incidence of posterior vitreous detachment after cataract surgery

PURPOSE: To report the incidence of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) after uneventful state-of-the-art small-incision phacoemulsification with implantation of a posterior chamber intraocular lens (PC IOL). SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwigshafen Hospital, Ludwigshafen, Germany. METHODS: This prospective study evaluated the vitreous status of eyes by biomicroscopic examination, indirect binocular ophthalmoscopy, and B-scan ultrasonography before planned cataract surgery. Patients with the posterior vitreous attached were included for follow-up and examined 1 week, 1 month, and 1 year after uneventful phacoemulsification with PC IOL implantation. The preoperative prevalence and postoperative incidence of PVD were determined by ultrasonography. RESULTS: The study included 188 eyes of 188 patients (131 women, 57 men) with a mean age of 77.2 years. The mean spherical equivalent was -0.78 diopter (D) (range -8.75 to +6.25 D) and the mean axial length (AL), 23.22 mm (range 20.50 to 26.04 mm). Preoperatively, 130 eyes (69.1%) had PVD and 58 eyes (30.9%) had no PVD. Postoperatively, 12 eyes (20.7%) developed PVD at I week, 18 eyes (31%) at 1 month, and 4 eyes (6.9%) at 1 year. The vitreous body remained attached to the retina in 24 eyes (41.4%) 1 year after surgery. No preoperatively measured parameter (eg, age, refraction, AL, effective phacoemulsification time) was predictive of the occurrence of PVD after cataract surgery. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of PVD after modern cataract surgery was frequent in cases in which the Posterior hyaloid was attached to the retinal surface preoperatively. J Cataract Refract Surg 2009; 35.-987-991 (C) 2009 ASCRS and ESCRS