Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To identify retinal changes following phacoemulsification cataract surgery (PHACO) or extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE). Methods: Two hundred consecutive eyes of 200 patients were evaluated before and 1 month after surgery. One hundred eyes had undergone PHACO and 100 eyes had undergone ECCE in order to identify new vitreoretinal changes. All eyes were examined by indirect depressed fundus examination, with +90 D preset lens, Goldman three–mirror contact lens, and ultrasound. According to the used technique, the eyes were divided into 2 groups: Group 1(G1) 100 eyes that underwent PHACO surgery and Group 2 (G2) 100 eyes that underwent ECCE. Patients with previous partial or total posterior vitreous cortex detachment (PVD) were excluded. Results: Posterior vitreous detachment was present in 22% of eyes following ECCE and in 36% of eyes following PHACO (P > 0.001). Peripheral retinal holes were found in 2 % of eyes after ECCE and 1% after PHACO. One eye (1%) of G2 had associated retinal detachment, while no PHACO eyes had detachments. Macular edema occurred in 3% of ECCE eyes and 1.0% PHACO eyes, respectively. Conclusions: Retinal changes after cataract surgery were more frequent after ECCE and this probably reflects the relatively recent development of microsurgical techniques.
Keywords: retina • cataract • retinal degenerations: cell biology