Causes, prevention and correction of refractive errors after phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation

Abstract

To evaluate the influence of dry eye disease (DED) in cataract patients on refractive results of phacoemulsification with implantation of intraocular lenses (IOLs). The study included 24 patients (24 eyes) with early cataract or phacosclerosis who planned to undergo phacoemulsification with implantation of multifocal IOL. Inclusion criteria was preoperative presence of DED. During the initial visit, all patients first had IOL power calculated, received comprehensive treatment to address DED, and then repeated the IOL power calculation. Accuracy of achieving target refraction was evaluated by the amount of residual spherical equivalent one months after the surgery. In patients with cataract and DED, the following statistically significant changes were noted after ocular surface normalization: reduction of the cylindrical component of refraction, reduction of corneal irregularity and its asymmetry, as well as normalization of eye surface. The average difference in the calculation of IOL power before and after DED treatment was 0.87±0.11 D, maximum error was 2.25 D. Control examination one month after the operation showed high visual functions in all operated patients. Deviation from the planned refraction was minimal (41.2% of cases were within in ±0.25 D of the planned refraction, 76.5% of cases in ±0.5 D, 100% of cases in ±1.0 D). Preoperative detection of DED and its correction in patients with cataract increases calculation precision of IOL power and improves clinical and functional results.