Purpose: To determine the rate of posterior capsular opacification and outcomes and complications of YAG capsulotomy following cataract surgery in eyes with uveitis. Setting: Tertiary public hospital setting in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2009 and 2023 Design: Retrospective observational cohort study Methods: Patient or study population: Patients who underwent cataract surgery following a diagnosis of uveitis Main outcome measures: Time from cataract surgery to development of posterior capsular opacification (PCO) and flare of uveitis following YAG capsulotomy. Results: In 4430 patients with uveitis, cataract surgery was performed in 596 patients (13.5%, 746 eyes). PCO developed in 250 eyes with a median time to PCO of 77 months. PCO developed in 17.3% (95% CI 14.6 – 20.5%) by one year, 24.2% (95% CI 21.0 – 27.8%) by two years, and 33.8% (95% CI 30.3 – 37.7%) by five years. 120 eyes underwent YAG capsulotomy during the study period. Complications occurred in 19 subjects (15.8%) and included uveitis flare (15.0%), cystoid macular oedema (3.3%) and retinal detachment (0.8%). On multivariate analysis younger age was associated with higher risk of uveitis flare (OR 0.968 p=0.038) and three months quiescence with lower risk of flare (OR 0.190 p=0.004). Conclusions: PCO is a common complication following cataract surgery in subjects with uveitis, occurring in over one third of patients by five years. Complications of YAG capsulotomy occur in 15.8% with increased frequency in younger subjects and in those with <3 months of uveitis quiescence.
Ng et al. (Wed,) studied this question.