Central corneal thickness changes after phacoemulsification cataract surgery

Abstract Background Accumulating evidence suggests that refractive stabilization occurs rapidly following small incision cataract surgery. Nonetheless, many guidelines still suggest waiting four to 6 weeks before prescribing corrective lenses. This study was undertaken to supplement the existing literature regarding refractive stabilization, and evaluate multiple contributing factors that could dissuade clinicians from confidently correcting refractive error in the early post-operative course following routine cataract surgeries. Methods Adult patients undergoing phacoemulsification cataract surgery with uncomplicated surgeries and post-surgical courses at the Calgary Ophthalmology Centre (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) were included in this prospective observational case series. Exclusion criteria included known corneal dystrophies, infectious keratitis, complicated surgery or toric/multifocal IOLs. Data was collected at weekly intervals for a total of 6 weeks. Collected data included autorefraction, visual acuity, corneal pachymetry, and effective lens position. Results One hundred six eyes of 104 patients were included in this study. Post-operative sphere, cylinder and spherical equivalent were not significantly different at any post-operative week compared with week six, and 80–86% of patients were within 0.5D of last follow-up spherical equivalent at any week. The secondary outcomes of central corneal thickness, effective lens position and visual acuity did, however, exhibit significant differences between early post-operative weeks and last follow-up values. Conclusions These data suggest that refractive error can be effectively measured and corrected as early as one-week post-operatively in the majority of patients, though other measures of post-operative stability including central corneal thickness, effective lens position and visual acuity can require up to 4 weeks to stabilize. Thus a conservative and pragmatic approach may be to wait until 4 weeks post-operatively prior to obtaining refractive correction following uncomplicated phacoemulsification cataract surgery.

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THE ASSOCIATION OF CATARACT TYPE ON CENTRAL CORNEAL THICKNESS AFTER PHACOEMULSIFICATION CATARACT SURGERY

Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal ◽

10.51253/pafmj.v71i5.6856 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 71 (5) ◽

pp. 1611-14

Author(s):

Hussnain Abbas ◽

Abdul Rauf ◽

Shagufta Perveen ◽

Shahid Hamid Mehmood ◽

Irshad Hussain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cataract Surgery ◽

Central Corneal Thickness ◽

Corneal Thickness ◽

Divide And Conquer ◽

Military Hospital ◽

Time Intervals ◽

Prospective Comparative Study ◽

And Gender ◽

The One ◽

Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery

Objective: To assess any association between the type of cataract and the central corneal thickness at pre-operative and postoperative three-day and one-month appointments after phacoemulsification surgery. Study Design: Prospective, comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Eye Department Combined Military Hospital Multan, from Jun 2020 to Apr 2021. Methodology: A total of 89 patients requiring cataract surgery by phacoemulsification were recruited. Age and gender were recorded for each patient. Patient’s type of cataract based on maturity was recorded before the surgery. Phacoemulsification cataract surgery using ‘divide and conquer’ technique was carried out. Patients’ central corneal thickness was measured at the pre-operative, three-day post-operative and one-month post-operative appointment using traditional non-contact tonopachymeter. Results: There were 49 (55.1%) male and 40 (44.9%) female patients with a mean age of 62.15 ± 12.40 years. No significant association was found between the type of cataract and central corneal thickness at the three-time intervals (p=0.14). Central corneal thickness significantly increased from 0.48 ± 0.04 mm pre-operatively to 0.51 ± 0.04 mm at the three-day post-operative appointment (p<0.001). It then reduced to 0.49 ± 0.04 mm at the one-month appointment (p=0.01). Conclusion: The type of cataract is not associated with the variation in central corneal thickness due to cataract surgery. Central corneal thickness significantly increases from the pre-operative to right after the cataract surgery. However, it returns to preoperative levels after a one-month period.

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