Comparative Study of Postoperative Macular Thickness Following Uncomplicated Cataract Surgery – Diabetic versus Nondiabetic Patients in a Tertiary Care Center at Chengalpattu District

Abstract

Background: Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness in the world. This study aims to determine whether cataract surgery has an effect on the progression of macular thickness in nondiabetic and diabetic patients, specifically in the absence of pre-existing diabetic retinopathy (DR) changes. Methods: It is a prospective cohort study carried out between January 2022 and September 2022 at Shri Sathya Sai Medical College, which is a Tertiary Health-care Center situated at Chengalpattu district in Tamil Nadu, after obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Board. A total of 72 patients posted for cataract surgery were divided into two groups each group of 36 patients, Group 1 well-controlled diabetics without DR planned for cataract surgery and Group 2 nondiabetics. The patients underwent cataract surgery by small incision cataract surgery/phacoemulsification method based on the staging of cataract and also the surgeon’s choice and cataract surgery was done by the same surgeon and the patients were implanted with rigid/foldable intraocular lens. Results: Out of 72 patients analyzed in both the groups, 37 were male patients and 35 were female patients in the age group commonly 50–65 years. The mean age group in the diabetes group was 57.19 ± 9.18 and the normal group was 61.67 ± 7.73. The mean foveal thickness of the DR group was higher than that of the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant. At the end of the 3rd month, the mean foveal thickness returned to near-normal range. Conclusion: The thickness of the fovea is increased after cataract surgery in the 1st week postoperatively in both diabetic and nondiabetic groups and returns to near-normal preoperative value in both the groups at the end of 3 months postoperative period.