To analyze the effects and the stability of a posterior capsulectomy during combined vitrectomy and cataract surgeries in patients with retinal disease.

Between 2003 and 2005, the records of patients who underwent posterior capsulectomy during a combined vitrectomy and cataract surgery were followed for 12 months. Among 26 total eyes (17 were from males and nine from females), the average age was 63. An epiretinal membrane was found in 18 eyes, branch retinal vein occlusion in three eyes, diabetic macular edema and vitreous opacity in two eyes, and a macular hole in one eye. The posterior capsulotomy was made smaller than the optic using a vitrectomy cutter after insertion of a posterior chamber intraocular lens (IOL). We investigated postoperative visual acuity, inflammation, and complications.

There were no intraoperative complications. One month postoperatively, one eye (3.8%) showed an increase in intraocular pressure of more than 30 mmHg, one eye (3.8%) showed 2+ inflammatory cells in the anterior chamber. Visual acuity increased by 2 lines postoperatively in 13 eyes (50.0%), whereas visual acuity decreased by more than 1 line in one eye (3.8%). There was a slight decenteration of IOL within 1 mm in two eyes (7.7%) and there was no reclosure of the posterior capsulectomy one year postoperatively.

Posterior capsulectomy during combined vitrectomy and cataract surgery in patients with retinal disease was simple, safe, and effective in preventing after cataract.