Educational draft · awaiting clinical reviewUse Rapid for revision, not patient-care decisions. Check current national and local guidance and the BNF or BNFC before acting.
2 min synopsisUK scopeSources checked 7 Sept 2026Clinical review pending
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Deterioration after eye surgery
Increasing ocular pain, redness or loss of vision after cataract surgery can indicate endophthalmitis, a pressure rise or another sight-threatening complication.
Action: Arrange immediate contact with the operating eye service or emergency ophthalmology; do not wait for the booked postoperative visit.
Synopsis
Decide when lens surgery is appropriate, prepare an individual consent discussion and recognise complications requiring urgent postoperative assessment.
Base referral on the person's functional difficulty, preferences and potential benefit rather than an acuity threshold.
Explain the likely refractive outcome and continuing need for spectacles before choosing an implant.
Establish retinal and optic nerve comorbidity because removing the cataract cannot reverse those conditions.
Key red flags
New flashes, numerous floaters or a spreading field shadow require urgent retinal assessment after surgery.
Investigation priorities
01
Refraction and visual assessmentFirst step
Connect lens opacity with the person's actual visual limitation.
Management branches
ReferralChoose whether surgery fits the problem
A confirmed cataract is interfering with activities important to the person.
Describe the visual difficulties and examine for competing causes before attributing every symptom to the lens.
Discuss surgery, reasonable visual aids and observation, including the person's preferences and the potential effect of delay.
Key medicines
Intracameral cefuroxime for operative prophylaxisAprokam: inject 1 mg in 0.1 mL into the anterior chamber once, at the end of cataract surgery, after product-specific reconstitution.
National guidance is shown before implementation-dependent detail. Typical adult dose examples remain subject to patient factors, contraindications and the live BNF or specialist protocol. Source check completed 7 Sept 2026; clinical approval remains outstanding.