Retinal detachment after phacoemulsification.

We reviewed the characteristics of 100 retinal detachments after phacoemulsification. The characteristics of retinal breaks and the configurations of the detachments were similar to cases of retinal detachments after intracapsular surgery. Evidence indicates that detachments occurring within six months of cataract surgery appeared to be statistically different from those occurring more than one year after phacoemulsification. Those detachments occurring within six months after cataract surgery tended to be more phakic in nature than those occurring relatively late. The surgical reattachment rates in these eyes compared favorably to previously published figures on the repair of retinal detachment after intracapsular surgery.