A prospective study of cystoid macular edema after neodymium: YAG laser posterior capsulotomy.

To establish the clinical and angiographic incidence of cystoid macular edema (CME) after neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) laser capsulotomy, the authors have prospectively studied 136 patients who underwent Nd:YAG laser discission for secondary opacification of the posterior capsule after extracapsular cataract extraction. In all patients, fluorescein angiography was obtained before the laser discission. Of the 136 patients, 78 (57%) were followed for at least 6 months, and fluorescein angiography was repeated 4 to 8 weeks after the procedure. CME did not develop in any of the patients in this series.