BACKGROUND A common yet feared complication of cataract surgery -posterior capsular rent (PCR), is a breach in the posterior capsule of the lens during cataract surgery. This compromises the postoperative visual outcomes if not recognized early or managed appropriately. Thus, the study aims to determine the PCR complication rate, identify the risk factors and assess the visual outcome in cataract patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS This retrospective observational study was conducted on 109 patients who underwent cataract surgery in the Department of Ophthalmology at R. L. Jalappa Hospital, Kolar, Karnataka, India. After obtaining approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee, the medical records of cataract patients who underwent routine cataract surgery by all grades of surgeons from June 2021 to December 2022 was reviewed for age, visual acuity, intraoperative and postoperative complications and associated risk factors for further analysis. The continuous data is represented as percentages. RESULTS A total of 2315 patients operated in the study duration, out of which Posterior capsule rupture was noted in 109 eyes (4.7%), involving 60 (55%) males and 49 (45%) females with mean age 65.5 + 9.1 years. The common risk factors of PCR were pseudoexfoliation in 27 (24.8%),floppy iris syndrome in 24 (22%), zonular dehiscence in 22 (20.1%), shallow anterior chamber in 19 (17.4%) and miosis in 17 (15.6%) cases. IOL was implanted in ciliary sulcus in 41 (37.6%) and in the capsular bag in 21 (19.3%) cases. Iris claw lenses were used in 33 (30.3%) andAnterior chamber intraocular lens in 14 (12.8%) cases.The post-operative visual acuity was in the range of 6/6 – 6/18 in 77 (70.64%) and 6/24 – 6/60 in 19 (17.43%) cases. CONCLUSION The study showeda higher rate of complications during cataract surgery after COVID- 19 pandemic.The extensive breaks from surgery due to COVID-19 pandemic lead to attenuation of microsurgical skills and this calls for more emphasis on wet lab training and simulation based surgical training to reduce PCR rate and associated complications following cataract surgery. This improves the quality of surgery and the post-operative visual outcome and safety of patients.

Cataract, Ciliary Sulcus, Posterior Capsular Rupture, Microsurgical Skill.