What Is Endophthalmitis After Cataract Surgery?

A dreaded complication of any procedure is an infection. It is impossible to have a zero risk of infection in life. And while cataract surgery is regarded as a very safe procedure, infection can still happen.

When an infection occurs within the eye, this is called endophthalmitis. However, endophthalmitis doesn’t just come from cataract surgery. Most endophthalmitis actually comes from trauma to the eye; giving bacteria an easy path to get into the eye. But normal cataract surgery does provide a small and improbable opportunity for bacteria to end up inside the eye as well.

Untreated, endophthalmitis can lead to a good amount of damage within the eye. The retina in the back of the eye is a very sensitive structure. Damage from the infection can lead to significant scarring and permanently impair vision. This type of infection needs to be treated urgently.

In typical cataract surgery, the vision improves in the first few days after the procedure. If for some reason the vision gets significantly worse after that period (often along with redness and discomfort of the eye), something isn’t quite right and needs to be checked out. The sooner treatment can be started the greater the odds to treat the infection before damage is done.

Fortunately, infections are quite rare after cataract surgery. The most important thing is to just be aware that if vision is dropping after cataract surgery instead of improving, this isn’t normal and must be examined by your doctor.

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