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Cataract surgery
Less than 5% of people have complications from cataract surgery that could threaten their sight or require further surgery. The rate of complications increases in people who have other eye diseases in addition to the cataract.1
Although the risk is low, surgery for cataracts does involve the risk of partial to total vision loss if the surgery is not successful or if there are complications. Some complications can be treated and vision loss reversed, but others cannot. Potential complications that may occur with cataract surgery include:
- Infection in the eye (endophthalmitis).
- Swelling and fluid in the center of the nerve layer (cystoid macular edema).
- Swelling of the clear covering of the eye (corneal edema).
- Bleeding in the front of the eye (hyphema).
- Bursting (rupture) of the capsule and loss of fluid (vitreous gel) in the eye.
- Detachment of the nerve layer at the back of the eye (retinal detachment).
Complications that may occur some time after surgery include:
- Problems with glare.
- Dislocated intraocular lens.
- Clouding of the portion of the lens covering (capsule) that remains after surgery, often called aftercataract (posterior capsular opacification). This is usually not a big problem and can be treated with laser surgery, if needed. The type of IOL may affect how likely it is to have clouding after surgery.
- Retinal detachment.
- Glaucoma.
- Astigmatism or strabismus.
- Sagging of the upper eyelid (ptosis).
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: September 29, 2009 |
| Medical Review: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Christopher J. Rudnisky - Ophthalmology | |
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