A Comparative Evaluation of Macular Thickness after Phacoemulsification and Manual SICS in Diabetic Patients by Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract

Background: The main aim of the study is to compare the change in macular thickness after uncomplicated phacoemulsification versus uncomplicated manual SICS in known diabetic patients by optical coherence tomography Methods: This study was an observational study involving 50 patients with each group having 25 patients. Group 1 was operated with Phacoemulsification through limbal 2.8 mm incision with Foldable PCIOL implantation. & Manual small incision cataract surgery through 5.5 to 6.5 mm incision with sclerocorneal tunnel with PMMA PCIOL implantation. For all patients, macular OCT was performed during preoperative period & post-op 1st day,7th day, 1st month, 3rd month & 6th month. Statistical software SPSS, version 21.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: In both PHACO & SICS group MCFT rose steadily during post-operative period and SICS group shows high rise during follow up.The MCFT shows a difference between PHACO & SICS group with the highest MCFT observed in 1st month follow up i.e., 231.6 micrometer (SD ±7.831) in PHACO group & 241.64 (SD ±7.35) micrometer in SICS group. The MCFT returned to near pre-op value by the 6th month. Conclusion: There is no effect of age and sex on macular thickness before and after in both PHACO and SICS groups. In SICS group significant macular thickness was observed as compared to PHACO group, so there should be more cautious to undertake SICS in those patients who are at risk of developing macular edema or who have a higher macular thickness as seen in diabetes patients. Keywords: Phacoemulsification (PHACO), small incision cataract surgery (SICS), Cystoid macular edema.