Purpose. To assess the state of the corneal endothelium in patients with diabetic and immature age - related cataracts before and in the long term after phacoemulsification. Material and methods. There were 25 patients (43 eyes) under observation in total. The average age is 66.4±10.1 years. There were 12 men and 13 women among the surveyed. The average time after cataract phacoemulsification was 5.6±1.7 years. There were 2 groups of patients: group I (main) included 10 patients (16 eyes) with diabetic cataract, group 2 (control) consisted of 15 patients (27 eyes) with immature senile cataract (ISC) without diabetes. Before and after phacoemulsification the central corneal thickness (CCT), as well as polymegatism, pleomorphism, and corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) were studied using an EM-2000 endothelial microscope (Nidek, Japan). Results. In the long-term period after cataract phacoemulsification there was decreasing trend in the corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) as in patients operated on for immature senile and especially diabetic cataracts (by 1.5 times). The initial data of ECD in patients with diabetic cataract in comparison with ISC were lower although not significantly. There was also a decreasing trend in the percentage of hexaganality and the number of normal endothelial cells, as well as an increase in the coefficient of their polymegatism after phacoemulsification in patients with DM in comparison with patients without it. Conclusion. The study showed that phacoemulsification of diabetic cataracts is associated with more pronounced damage to the corneal endothelium when compared with the ISC group. During phacoemulsification with IOL implantation, especially in patients with diabetic cataracts, you should pay attention to the initially possible smaller ECD and take this circumstance into account when performing phacoemulsification. Key words: diabetic cataract, surgical treatment, phacoemulsification, endothelial microscopy, corneal endothelial cells.
Age-related changes of corneal endothelial cell in healthy Chinese tree shrew measured by non-contact specular microscope
