Abstract
Purpose:
To analyze pre- and postoperative surgical events in cataract patients with small pupils undergoing cataract surgery.
Methods:
We reviewed medical records of patients who underwent cataract surgery between January 2009 and February 2014. The surgeries were performed by 4 experienced surgeons. We included 80 eyes of 60 patients with pupil sizes of less than 5 mm in diameter and who required iris retractors during the cataract surgery (small pupil group). The control group comprised of 99 eyes of 77 patients with pupil sizes of more than 5 mm in diameter and who required no mechanical dilatation of the pupil during cataract surgery. Pre- and postoperative intra- or extra-ocular surgical events were analyzed.
Results:
Preoperative intra- or extra-ocular surgical events were seen in 22 eyes (27.5%) in the small pupil group and 12 eyes (12.1%) in the control group (P = [Editor1] 0.0091, chi-square test), and the difference was significant for laser iridotomy (P = 0.0033). Postoperative intra- or extra-ocular events were seen in 20 eyes (25.0%) in the small pupil group and 12 eyes (12.1%) in the control group (P = 0.025); the differences were significant for the following procedures: trabeculectomy (P = 0.019), intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibodies (P = 0.019), and sub-Tenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide (P = 0.039).<br />
Conclusions:
Cataract patients with small pupils often have pre- and postoperative intra- or extra-ocular surgical events. Thus, it should be recognized that cataract surgery is only a step in the process of treatment in patients with small pupils during cataract surgeries.