gms | German Medical Science

Purpose: To study the risk of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) as a complication to intraocular surgery.

Method: The Danish National Patient Register (NPR) holds information about all surgeries performed on Danish citizens since 1996, and was used a datasource for this study. The outcome was surgery for RRD. The exposures were prior surgery for RRD on either eye, prior cataract surgery, and prior macular surgery.

Results: Phacoemulsification surgery increases the risk of RRD by a factor of 4, and the risk is increased for at least 5 years after surgery. The cumulated 5 year risk of RRD after surgery for epiretinal membranes was 0.5%, and the risk after surgery for macular holes was 3%. After primary RRD surgery, the risk of reoperation for RRD is higher than the risk for a new RRD in the fellow eye in the first postoperative year. Thereafter the risk is higher in the fellow eye. Fellow eyes of eyes operated for RRD has a cumulated 10 year risk of surgery for RRD of 10%, higher for males (13%) than for females (6%).

Conclusion: The risk of RRD is increased after phacoemulsification surgery, macular surgery and surgery for RRD. In contrast to cataract surgery and macular surgery, surgery for primary RRD is not followed by an increased risk for RRD surgery for more than the first postoperative year.