Retinal detachment in high myopia after cataract surgery : retrospective study about 365 cas.

Abstract

Purpose : To evaluate the incidence of retinal detachment (RD) after cataract surgery in highly myopic eyes using nucleus subluxation and cracking methods.

Methods : This is a retrospective study about 363 eyes from 257 highly myopic patients (axial length between 26 to 30 mm) who underwent cataract surgery from 2012 until 2015 with a follow-up of at least 3 years. The phacoemulsification procedures were all performed in micro coaxial mode with Stellaris PC engine. The different studied criteria were sex, age, axial length, lens power, surgical methods, side of operated eye, power US, EPT and retinal detachment occurrence.

Results : The patient’s mean age was 68+-10 years with as much women as men and a balance for the side of the eye. Mean axial length was 27 ±1mm with mean dioptric power lens of 11 ±4 D. The mean US power was 16±6% with a mean EPT (effective phacoemulsification time) of 8±5s. 60% of the cases were operated by subluxation method. We found 4 retinal detachments in 2 women and 2 men (2 after subluxation procedure and 2 after o cracking procedure), with a final estimated incidence rate of only 1%.

Conclusions : We followed patients over a period of at least 3 years due to the peak incidence between 24 and 36 months after phacoemulsification. In previous studies, the risk of RD by phacoemulsification in highly myopic ranges from 2.4 to 18%. With the current techniques, the risk of RD is close to that of the highly myopic non-operated population corresponding to near 2%.

This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.