PCO Eye Surgery: Risks, Recovery, and What to Expect

PCO, or posterior capsular opacification, surgery is a laser surgical procedure that doctors use to treat secondary cataracts. People may develop secondary cataracts after their original cataracts have been surgically removed. Patients can experience complications after PCO surgery.

Poorer Vision

• According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, patients with secondary cataracts may develop poorer vision after posterior capsular opacification surgery than they had prior to the surgery.

Blindness

• People who undergo PCO eye surgery have a small risk of developing blindness.

Detached Retina

• Patients with secondary cataracts have a low chance of developing a detached retina after posterior capsular opacification surgery.

Eye Pressure

• People who are severely nearsighted and those with glaucoma may have an increase in pressure inside the affected eye after PCO surgery.

Procedure

• A surgeon uses a laser to make an opening in the clouded capsule during PCO surgery, or yttrium aluminum garnet capsulotomy, in order to let light through. Patients should see a doctor within two weeks of the procedure to identify any complications.