Abstract
Purpose :
To evaluate the long-term effect of cataract surgery on highly myopic patients with macular traction maculopathy (MTM) and the risk factors associated with MTM progression.
Methods :
Highly myopic eyes with MTM including epiretinal membrane traction and retinoschisis without macular hole or retinal detachment, who underwent phacoemulsification surgery, were included. The optical coherence tomography (OCT) and microperimetry examinations were taken on subjects preoperatively and postoperatively to assess the status of retinopathy. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and macular sensitivity (MS) were recorded at every visit.
Results :
Within the 184 subjects, both the BCVA and MS were improved significantly after cataract surgery throughout the follow-up period. The OCT examination showed no progression of retinopathy in all subjects at 6 months postoperatively. At 3 years postoperatively, only 7.1% of subjects experienced progression in MTM. Moreover, the long axial length, negative posterior vitreous detachment and positive schisis in fovea may serve as risk factors for MTM progression.
Conclusions :
In general, the cataract surgery significantly improves the visual acuity and macular sensitivity of patients with MTM. Cataract surgery per se is not a risk factor for MTM progression, especially in eyes with complete posterior vitreous detachment. However, longer axial length and more extensive macular retinoschisis predispose the patients to MTM progression.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.