Effect of manual small incision cataract surgery on pre-corneal tear film at a tertiary care centre

Abstract

A common adverse effect of cataract surgery is dry eye disease (DED), which lowers postoperative patient satisfaction and results in substandard visual acuity. Tear film is disrupted during cataract surgery which leads to dry eye disease. Very few studies are available for the assessment of dry eye following manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) among the South Indian population. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of dry eye and to evaluate tear film following manual small incision cataract surgery.:A prospective study was carried out in the Department of Ophthalmology at a tertiary care hospital for the assessment of dry eye following MSICS using dry eye indices like tear meniscus height, tear film break up time, Schirmer’s Test 1 and Rose Bengal staining. The patients were assessed preoperatively and at one week, one month and three months postoperatively.:In the first week following manual small incision cataract surgery, 21 eyes (33.3%), 26 eyes (41.3%), and 2 eyes (3.2%) experienced mild, moderate, and severe dry eyes, respectively. One month after MSICS surgery, 22 eyes (34.9%), 19 eyes (30.2%) and 1 eye (1.6%) had mild, moderate and severe dry eye respectively. The mean values of dry eye indices were normal preoperatively and significantly reduced at the one-week and one-month postoperative review.The dry eye illness began to manifest immediately following cataract surgery and peaked on day seven. Over time, symptoms of dry eye was seen to decrease. Despite satisfactory visual recovery, dry eye illness is a typical post-cataract surgery complaint that negatively impacts patient satisfaction and must be assessed and treated promptly.