Stabilization of refractive error and associated factors following small incision phacoemulsification cataract surgery

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.

Cognitive workload, complications and visual outcomes of phacoemulsification cataract surgery: Three-dimensional versus conventional microscope

Purpose To compare the surgical workload, complications, and visual outcomes using the three-dimensional visualization system with the conventional microscope in phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Design Prospective, non-randomized, open-label interventional study. Methods All patients underwent phacoemulsification cataract surgery using the three-dimensional visualization system or conventional microscope. Results Of the 203 eyes, 80 underwent surgery with the three-dimensional system while 123 underwent with the conventional microscope. No difference was noted in the total surgical duration, complication rates, and visual outcomes between the two groups. However, capsulorhexis was significantly faster using the conventional microscope while posterior chamber intraocular lens insertion was quicker using the three-dimensional system. In terms of cognitive workload comparison, no difference was seen in the surgeons’ heart rate, oxygen saturation levels, and surgery task load index total workload score and workload score for all six dimensions of the questionnaire, between the three-dimensional system and conventional microscope groups. As compared to baseline, the heart rate increased significantly during all surgical steps and at the end in both groups. When compared to baseline, the oxygen saturation levels were significantly raised during capsulorhexis, irrigation, and aspiration and posterior chamber intraocular lens insertion and at the end of the surgery in the three-dimensional group and during incision and at the end of the surgery in the conventional microscope group. Conclusions The duration of surgery, complications, and visual acuity outcomes remain unaffected while performing phacoemulsification cataract surgeries with the three-dimensional viewing system when compared to the conventional microscopes. Moreover, the surgeons’ cognitive workload too remains unaffected while utilizing this revolutionary three-dimensional surgical technology.

THE ASSOCIATION OF CATARACT TYPE ON CENTRAL CORNEAL THICKNESS AFTER 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.

Refractive Outcome of Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery in Rural Sabah Using Immersion Biometry

Background: A good refractive outcome after cataract surgery indicates adequate clinical service provision. Precise immersion biometry is critical to achieve the desired refractive outcome. While the immersion biometry results are good in the tertiary settings, it is of interest to explore the refractive outcome of cataract surgeries in a rural facility using the same technique. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional review was conducted on medical records of all cataract surgeries carried out in Hospital Keningau, Sabah. This study used all patients’ medical records who had been assessed using immersion biometry pre-operatively, underwent phacoemulsification cataract surgery besides attending a post-operative refraction session within 90 days from the operation date. Clinical details were recorded in the form of standard proformas and analysed. The refractive outcome was evaluated using spherical equivalence (SE) and bestcorrected visual acuity (BCVA). The percentage of cases with post-operative SE within ±1.00 diopter (D) and BCVA of ‘6/12 or better’ were determined. The association between demographic factors and surgical-related factors with post-operative SE was evaluated using Fisher’s exact test. Results: Of 140 cataract surgeries, 113 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The average patient age was 66.3 (SD = 10.9) years old. The technique was proven to replicate a good outcome of 84.1% of cases with post-operative SE within ±1.00 D while 90.3% of the cases achieved BCVA of ‘6/12 or better’. Age and ethnicity were found to be associated with post-operative SE. Conclusion: The study proves the reproducibility of good refractive outcome in a rural facility using immersion biometry. The findings provide a benchmark for performance surveillance in rural facilities.

Comparison of post-op quality of vision of spheric IOL and aspheric hydrophilic acrylic yellow tinted intraocular lens implantation following phacoemulsification cataract surgery

Purpose: To compare the post-op visual quality of spheric and aspheric acrylic yellow tinted intraocular lens following phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Place of study: Al-Majeed Laser Eye Hospital. Methods: Total 60 subjects (aged 40-65years) with age related mature cataracts were included. Data was assembled by non-probability convenient sampling technique at Al-Majeed Laser Eye Hospital. All patients presenting with mature cataract were include in this study without any other pathology and fundus abnormality. Pre and post-operative visual acuity was measured by using standard snellen visual acuity testing chart. For the purpose of accuracy repetitive values were taken for each patient. Post-operative vision was recorded one month followed by phacoemulsification. Comparisons was made between spheric and asphereic acrylic yellow tinted intraocular lens by applying (descriptive) statistics and paired sample t test for the analysis of results. Results: Quality of vision was compared post-operatively after implantation of aspheric hydrophilic acrylic IOL and spheric IOL in posterior chamber under the same phaco surgeon. All subjects after intra ocular implantation had better corrected visual acuity of 6/9 and more improved 6/6. There were found statistically differences in recorded visual acuity with aspheric yellow tinted iol implanation and spheric iol (p = 0.15) between the two types of intra-ocular lens. The mean, standard deviation, t-value found with spheric IOL were.1867, .18889, 2.517 respectively. However, of aspheric hydrophilic acrylic intra-ocular lens mean, standard deviation and t values found .800, .13493 and 2.5493 respectively. There was significant variance in statistics and quality of vision between the two types of lenses. Conclusions: This study concludes that post –operative improvement in quality of vision was better with aspheric hydrophilic yellow tinted lenses than spheric iol implantation. Implanting a foldable aspheric acrylic IOL gave much advantage in visual outcome to pseudophakes by protecting retina from light of shorter wavelength and decrease of chromatic aberration under the photopic circumstances particularly in subjects at hazard of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Clinical outcomes and complications between FLACS and conventional phacoemulsification cataract surgery: a PRISMA-compliant Meta-analysis of 25 randomized controlled trials

AIM: To update and investigate the clinical outcomes and complications between femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) and conventional phacoemulsification cataract surgery (CPCS). METHODS: A Meta-analysis was performed using databases, including Pubmed, Embase, and the Cochrane library. At least one of the clinical outcomes and/or complications data in each included randomized controlled trials (RCT) was reported. The quality of the RCT was assessed with the Cochrane risk assessments tool. RESULTS: Overall, 25 RCTs including 3781 eyes were included. No statistically significant difference detected between FLACS and CPCS in terms of corrected distant visual acuity (CDVA), uncorrected distant visual acuity (UDVA), and central corneal thickness (CCT) at the long-term follow up, although FLACS showed better CDVA at 1wk postoperatively, and less increase in CCT at 1d and 1wk. FLACS had better postoperative endothelial cell count (ECC) at 1 and 4-6wk, while there was no significantly difference between FLACS and CPCS at 1d, 3 and 6mo [weighted mean difference (WMD): 51.54, 95% confidence interval (CI): -5.46 to 108.54, P=0.08; WMD: 48.52, 95%CI: -17.54 to 114.58, P=0.15; WMD: 12.17, 95%CI: -48.61 to 72.94, P=0.69, respectively]. Postoperative endothelial cell loss (ECL) of the FLACS was significantly lower than that of the CPCS at 1, 4-6wk, and 3mo (P=0.02, 0.008, 0.03, respectively). However, there was no significant difference between two groups at 6mo (WMD: -30.36, 95%CI: -78.84 to 18.12, P=0.22). No significant difference was discovered with respect to the macular edema [odds ratio (OR): 0.93, 95%CI: 0.42 to 2.05, P=0.85], capsular complication excluding posterior capsular tears (OR: 0.79, 95%CI: 0.42 to 1.50, P=0.47) and intraocular pressure change (OR: 0.82, 95%CI: 0.39 to 1.72, P=0.60). However, posterior capsular tears were more common in CPCS group (OR: 0.12, 95%CI: 0.01 to 0.98, P=0.05). The effective phacoemulsification times were significantly lower in the FLACS group compared to the CPCS group (WMD: -0.78, 95%CI: -1.23 to -0.34, P=0.0006). CONCLUSION: No statistically significant difference is discovered between FLACS and CPCS in clinical outcomes at the long-term follow up. However, higher rate of posterior capsular tears is detected in patients receiving CPCS.