Possible Complications

As with any operation there is always some risk of complication. Approximately 98% of cataract cases are very successful. There is an overall incidence of complications of about 2% of which 1% are severe and 1% are mild. Complications such as intraocular haemorrhage, acute infection or sympathetic opthalmia can have devastating effects, even loss of vision in extremely rare cases. Other complications can include glaucoma, corneal clouding, and retinal detachment, but these are uncommon.

Complications can occur during surgery with the dislocation of cataract or part of it into the posterior segment of the eye. This occurs when the lens capsule is ruptured with vitreous loss and this can effect the retina or it may lead to difficulty inserting the intraocular lens into the eye.

It is not the purpose of this document to discuss all these conditions in detail. Please ask Dr Delaney about the risk of these and other complications.

The assisted local anaesthetic has specific risks of its own. These risks are discussed in the section entitled anaesthesia.

Some variations in refraction and spectacle power occur after cataract surgery and are discussed in the section headed intraocular lens.