Cataract surgery in adult nanophthalmic eyes

Abstract

Purpose : To report the visual outcomes and complications of phacoemulsification surgery and intraocular lens implantation in a large series of adult patients with nanophthalmos.

Methods : Medical records of patients undergoing cataract surgery at a single tertiary centre between 2010 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Main outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 90 days after surgery and intra- and postoperative complications occurring during the follow-up period.

Results : 59 eyes of 43 patients aged 19-90 years (median 71 years) with axial length <21.0 mm were included. The mean anterior chamber depth pre-operation was 2.49mm. Surgery resulted in an improvement in BCVA in 44 eyes (74.6%) and was ≥20/40 in 40 eyes (67.8%). Worsening of BCVA occurred in nine eyes (15.3%). Mean postoperative refractive error was -0.91 dioptres. Complications occurred in 13 eyes (22.0%). The most frequent complications were severe corneal oedema (5.1%), iris prolapse (5.1%) and cystoid macular oedema (3.4%).

Conclusions : Cataract surgery in adult nanophthalmic eyes is surgically challenging with a higher rate of complications than in routine cataract surgery, but frequently results in good visual outcomes.

This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.