CHANGES IN MACULAR THICKNESS FOLLOWING UNEVENTFUL CATARACT SURGERY AT A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE: 3 MONTHS FOLLOW UP STUDY.

Abstract

Background: Cataract is globally a primary cause of preventable blindness and visual impairment with a prevalence of 47.8%. Small-incision cataract surgery (SICS) and phaco-emulsication are the most commonly performed cataract surgeries. However, they are often associated with postoperative risks like cystoid macular edema. In advent of same the current study aimed to identify the macular thickness following uneventful phacoemulsication & small incision cataract surgery method (SICS) comparison with visual acuity. Material & Method: A prospective observational study was undertaken for a period of 1 year from April 2022 to March 2023 on all cataract patients who presented to the OPD at Department of Ophthalmology, IMCHRC, Indore. 100 patients who qualied the inclusion criteria were enrolled with random allocation into 2 surgery group i.e., Group A (N=50); patients who underwent SICS for one eye with bag polymethacrylate IOL implantation and Group B (N=50); patients who underwent phacoemulsication method in one eye with in bag acrylic type of foldable IOL. Postoperative follow up was done on day 7, week 2 and week 4 and upto 3 months. The complete ophthalmological examination and OCT of macula was done at follow-up. Statistical analysis was done with data collected as per the objectives of the study. Results: Subclinical macular oedema noted in two cases at 1st, 2nd and 4th week follow-up, but i was reduced at 3rd month. A statistically signicant (P<0.05) was observed in macular thickness between the preoperative & post operative 1st week, post-operative 2nd week & post-operative 4th week follow-up in Phacoemulsication group. Patients who underwent SICS procedure also showed statistically signicant difference (P<0.05) between the preoperative & postoperative macular thickness on follow-ups without affecting the nal visual acuity. Conclusion: Phacoemulsication procedure showed increased macular thickness without affecting the nal visual outcome postoperatively as compared to SICS. Subclinical macular edema was noted at 1st week which subsequently reduced at 3rd month.