Retropseudophakic endocapsular hemorrhage after extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation

ABSTRACT

On the second postoperative day following an uncomplicated extracapsular cataract extraction from her right eye, a 68-year-old women developed an unusual intraocular hemorrhage that was confined to the space between the posterior suface of the lens implant and the posterior capsule. The hemorrhage occupied the lower half of the papillary space and seriously obstructed the sight. Other than the visual symptoms the eye remained comfortable and uninflamed. The hemorrhage differed from the ordinary postoperative hyphema in that it took unusually long, four months, to spontaneously clear up. When hemorrhage cleared the posterior capsule had become opacified, the neodymium YAG laser capsulotomy of which gave final visual acuity of 20/30 [6/9] in the involved eye. It appears that other than taking a long time to spontaneously clear up, this type of hemorrhage is not a serious complication, with a very good eventual prognosis. [Pakistan Journal of Ophthalmology 960, 71, July, 1993.]