Cataract surgery is a common and safe procedure, but it does come with some risks. One of the most serious complications is endophthalmitis, an infection inside the eye. This article will discuss the incidence of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery, its sources, and factors related to it. Endophthalmitis is a rare but devastating complication of cataract surgery.
Symptoms include severe pain, reduced quick-onset vision, progressive swelling or redness of the eye, or smelly discharge from the eye after surgery. If you experience any of these symptoms after cataract surgery, you should see your eye doctor immediately. In a series of 20,000 cataract operations performed over a 14-year period in a hospital, 22 infections were recorded. Univariate analysis showed that intraoperative rupture of the posterior capsule, the non-use of antibiotics and the lack of use of the layer behind the lens were the risk factors for infectious endophthalmitis after cataract surgery (P%3D0.032, P%3D0000, P%3D0000, P%3D0000). Correcting or treating these risk factors before cataract surgery is desirable to reduce the risk of infection. The univariate analysis also showed that discoloration behind the lens during cataract surgery had a significant effect on inhibiting the incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis.
In addition, some scholars believe that seasonality, humidity and temperature can influence the incidence of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery. The patient's meticulous preparation for cataract surgery is possibly the most important factor in reducing the risk of endophthalmitis. The time of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery was 1 to 40 days, with an average of 10.57 days ± 11.17. Other causes of continuous blurred vision include residual refractive error (the eyes still need additional correction with eyeglasses), dry eye, or opacity of the back capsule (PCO). If you have dry eyes, the discomfort may last longer, up to three months. Sometimes blurred vision is caused by PCO, a fairly common complication that can occur weeks, months, or (more often) years after cataract surgery. It occurs when the lens capsule becomes blurry or wrinkled and begins to blur the vision.
PCO is the result of cells growing in the membrane over time, similar to scar tissue. Ongoing dry eyes and blepharitis can also cause continued sensitivity to light. Extreme sensitivity to light can be a sign of infection. If you experience this, call your eye doctor immediately. These are signs of retinal detachment, a rare complication of cataract surgery that occurs when the retina separates from the back of the eye. In conclusion, endophthalmitis is a devastating complication of cataract surgery that should be detected and treated as soon as possible.
The patient's meticulous preparation for cataract surgery is possibly the most important factor in reducing the risk of endophthalmitis. If you experience any symptoms after cataract surgery including severe pain, reduced quick-onset vision, progressive swelling or redness of the eye, or smelly discharge from the eye after surgery, you should urgently see your eye doctor.
