The following is a summary of “Corneal endothelial changes seven years after phacoemulsification cataract surgery,” published in the April 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Lundberg al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to investigate how the cornea fares in the long term following phacoemulsification cataract surgery.
They revisited 20 patients from a previous study on corneal endothelial changes post-phacoemulsification cataract surgery, examining patients seven years later. The patients were categorized into three groups based on their initial increase in central corneal thickness one day after surgery: less than 5% increase, 6–20% increase, and 20% or more increase. Primary objectives included corneal endothelial cell loss (ECL), endothelial cell count (ECC), and endothelial morphology.
The results showed a variance in cell loss across groups, with exceptions for groups 1 and 2. ECC exhibited notable differences between groups 1 and 3 at 3 months, with no discrepancy between the three groups at 7 years. Solely group 1 experienced cell loss between 3 months and 7 years. Endothelial cell morphology demonstrated a converging trend over this period.
Investigators concluded that over time, the number and shape of endothelial cells in the cornea eventually reach a similar stable state after cataract surgery, regardless of initial swelling and cell loss.
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10792-024-03044-6