Abstract
BackgroundTo evaluate the changes of choroidal vascular structures in patients after phacoemulsification surgery.MethodsA self-control study was conducted on 36 eyes of 36 patients who had uneventful phacoemulsification. Choroidal images were acquired preoperatively, 7 days (D7), 1 month (M1), and 3 months (M3) after surgery from enhanced depth imaging (EDI) optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans. Choroidal vascularity index (CVI) was used to assess vascular status of the choroid using image binarization by the Niblack method. The postoperative values of mean CVI were compared with baseline by paired t-test. Univariate and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to determine the associations between CVI and other factors.ResultsThe mean age of the recruited patients was 63.1 ± 6.9 years. The mean CVI at baseline was 60.1 ± 5.5%. After surgery, the CVI significantly increased to 61.7 ± 5.3% at D7, 63.6 ± 4.4% at M1 and 64.8 ± 4.0% at M3 (p = 0.035, 0.0006, < 0.0001, respectively). Univariate and multiple regression analysis revealed a positive association between CVI and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) at pre-operation and no significant association with age, axial length (AL), intraocular pressure (IOP) and gender at all timepoints.ConclusionsPhacoemulsification induced increased CVI in patients diagnosed with cataract. Evaluation of the long-term change of CVI following surgery may provide valuable information for studying the relationship between phacoemulsification and disorders of the choroid.
Highlights
To evaluate the changes of choroidal vascular structures in patients after phacoemulsification surgery
The Choroidal vascularity index (CVI) significantly increased to 61.7 ± 5.3% at D7, 63.6 ± 4.4% at month 1 (M1) and 64.8 ± 4.0% at months 3 (M3) (p = 0.035, 0. 0006, < 0.0001 for D7, M1 and M3 when compared with the preoperative values)
The greatest progression of CVI was observed between D7 and M1 after surgery (Fig. 3)
Summary
To evaluate the changes of choroidal vascular structures in patients after phacoemulsification surgery. Cataract with phacoemulsification surgery is the most extensively performed eye surgery. There are more than 1300 cases per million people undergoing phacoemulsification surgery per year in China and greater than 5000 cases per million people per year in Europe, America and India [1]. Phacoemulsification surgery is safe and generally associated with successful visual outcomes. The highest blood circulation in the human body, is composed of blood vessels, connective tissues, nerves, melanocytes and extracellular fluid. A great deal of analysis and research indicates that even uncomplicated phacoemulsification induces disorders of the choroid, especially an increase in the choroid thickness [2,3,4]. Only the choroidal thickness does not supply convincing evidence on what structures change, especially
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