Abstract
Purpose :
To describe the cataract surgery outcomes of a cohort of patients with uveitis at a single tertiary care center
Methods :
Charts of patients seen on the Uveitis Service at the Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital with a diagnosis of uveitis who underwent cataract surgery between 2017 - 2020 were reviewed.
Results :
A total of 104 patient charts were reviewed with 121 eyes undergoing cataract surgery. The most common type of uveitis was anterior (66.9%). The most common etiologies were idiopathic (54.8%), sarcoidosis (5.77%), and birdshot (5.77%). 57.0% of patients had uveitis severe enough to warrant systemic immunomodulatory therapy. The complication rate, when including ‘significant postoperative inflammation,’ was 17.8%; without it, the rate was 5.0%. Intraoperative complication rate was 0.8%. 71.2% of patients had 20/40 or better vision at 1 year. Only 6.6% eyes had 20/200 or worse vision, all due to structural damage to the optic nerve or retina unrelated to the surgery.
Conclusions :
Uveitis patients undergoing cataract surgery have a high incidence of postoperative complications, despite a low intraoperative complication rate. Long-term outcomes depended more on the uveitis severity and control than incidents of operative or peri-operative complications.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.