Retinal pigment epithelial tear after uneventful cataract surgery in a patient without macular degeneration

A 66-year-old man was referred to our clinic with decreased vision in the left eye. Nine days earlier, the patient had had uneventful phacoemulsification with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in the left eye. The preoperative examination showed a cortical nuclear cataract and a normal fundus. One day post surgery, visual acuity in the left eye had deteriorated, and at the time of referral, the corrected distance visual acuity was 20/160. Fundus biomicroscopy and optical coherence tomography showed a retinal pigment epithelial tear with subretinal fluid collection involving the macula. Fluorescein angiography showed no choroidal neovascularization on the macula. We report a case of retinal pigment epithelial tear after uneventful phacoemulsification with posterior chamber IOL implantation in an eye that was normal except for the presence of an immature cataract. Financial Disclosure No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.