Retinal detachment following phacoemulsification.

In a consecutive series of 1,500 eyes in which phacoemulsification had been performed, the incidence of subsequent retinal detachment was 3.6%. Vitreous loss occurred in 4.2% (63) of the 1,500 cases, and in this group of eyes the incidence of retinal detachment was 14% (9). The characteristics of retinal breaks and the configurations of retinal detachments following phacoemulsification were in general similar to cases following intracapsular surgery. The surgical reattachment rates in these eyes compared favorably to previous reports on the repair of retinal detachments.