Incidence and management of cataract after retinal detachment repair with silicone oil in immune compromised patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis.

PURPOSE: To determine the incidence of and risk factors for cataract and to describe the visual outcomes of cataract surgery in eyes with cytomegalovirus-related retinal detachments repaired with silicone oil.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

METHODS: A prospectively generated database of all patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis examined at a single tertiary care institution was used to identify all cases of retinal detachment between October 1983 and August 1997. Data on retinal detachment repair, development of cataract, and outcomes of cataract surgery were obtained retrospectively.

RESULTS: Among 904 eyes of 587 immune-compromised patients diagnosed with cytomegalovirus retinitis, 198 eyes of 155 patients developed retinal detachment. Among these, 106 eyes of 90 patients underwent retinal detachment repair with silicone oil. The Kaplan-Meier estimated median time to cataract was 1.8 months after surgery with silicone oil. The adjusted relative risk of cataract in eyes that underwent retinal detachment repair with silicone oil compared with eyes that did not was 6.74 (P <.0001). Eight of the eyes that developed cataract underwent uncomplicated cataract surgery by phacoemulsification and posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation. Among these, six eyes experienced >or=2 lines of improvement in visual acuity. All developed posterior capsule opacification a median of 7 days after cataract surgery. Four of five eyes that that underwent neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser capsulotomy experienced >or=2 lines improvement in visual acuity.

CONCLUSIONS: There is a high incidence of cataract after surgery with silicone oil tamponade for cytomegalovirus-related retinal detachment. Posterior capsule opacification occurs rapidly after cataract surgery in these patients.