Acute serous macular detachment and cystoid macular edema after uncomplicated phacoemulsification using standard dose subconjunctival cefuroxime

Acute toxic serous macular detachment after cataract surgery is very rare, and has been described previously with the use of high concentrations of intra-cameral cefuroxime. We report a case of serous macular detachment and cystoid macular edema 1 day after uncomplicated phacoemulsification using standard dose subconjunctival cefuroxime at the end of surgery. Our case demonstrates that subconjunctival cefuroxime may cause retinal toxicity in a similar fashion to intra-cameral cefuroxime, possibly due to entry of the drug into the anterior chamber through the section or trans-scleral absorption. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this complication with subconjunctival administration of cefuroxime.