Capsule complication during cataract surgery: Case-control study of preoperative and intraoperative risk factors

Abstract

PURPOSE: To identify preoperative and intraoperative factors associated with a capsule complication; that is, a capsule tear or a zonular dehiscence during cataract surgery. SETTING: Ten ophthalmic surgery departments in Sweden. METHODS: A retrospective review of files of patients with a capsule complication and control patients with no complication operated on in 2003 was performed. RESULTS: The review comprised 324 patients with a capsule complication and 331 control patients. In the logistic regression analyses, preoperative conditions associated with a capsule complication were previous trauma, white and brunescent/hard cataract, and phacodonesis. The intraoperative factors of loose zonules, the use of trypan blue, and miosis were all statistically significantly overrepresented in the capsule complication group. The same was true for eyes operated on by surgeons with the least experience. CONCLUSIONS: By preoperatively identifying cataract cases with the identified risk factors and allocating them to surgeons with the longest experience, the number of capsule complications could be kept low. Operating early in the course of the disease to prevent the cataract from becoming a poor surgical risk and improving training of junior surgeons should further reduce the frequency of capsule complications.