Background
The effect of cataract surgery on IOP in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a subject of debate. We investigated the effect of cataract surgery by phacoemulsification on intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with medically POAG .
Methods
Seventy eyes of 40 POAG patients undergoing cataract surgery by phacoemulsification were retrospectively evaluated. All patients had their POAG medically controlled without prior glaucoma surgery. Baseline demographics and clinical characteristics were recorded. IOP and the number of glaucoma medications were evaluated before and for 1 year after cataract surgery. We analyzed IOP variations from baseline with a Student
t
-test for a paired sample. We used a Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression to study the relation between IOP change from baseline and preoperative characteristics.
Results
One year after phacoemulsification, IOP decreased by a mean 1.15 ± 3 mmHg (6.8 ± 18.1%) (
P
= 0.01) and the number of glaucoma medications remained unchanged with a difference of − 0.1 ± 0.43 (
P
= 0.09). Higher preoperative IOP was associated with a greater IOP decrease after 1 year of follow-up (
P
< 0.001). One and 7 days after cataract surgery, 12.9 and 4.2% of the eyes had IOP spikes > 30 mmHg, respectively. One year after cataract surgery, 75.7% of the POAG eyes maintained the same number of glaucoma medications while 17.1% had a decrease and 7.2% of the eyes required adding glaucoma medications.
Conclusion
Cataract surgery by phacoemulsification in eyes with medically controlled POAG resulted at 1 year in a very small IOP decrease without a change in the number of glaucoma medications. A drop in IOP should not be expected after performing phacoemulsification alone in POAG patients.
BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in choroidal thickness and lamina cribrosa position after nonpenetrating deep sclerectomy (NPDS) and trabeculectomy.MethodsTwenty-three eyes with glaucoma that required filtering surgery were included (12 NDPS and 11 trabeculectomies) in this prospective observational study. OCT-enhanced depth imaging (OCT-EDI) was used to measure choroidal thickness, prelaminar tissue thickness and lamina cribrosa position before and 7 days and 1 month after surgery. All results are shown as median (interquartile range values).ResultsIntraocular pressure (IOP) was significantly lower 1 week after surgery than at baseline (7 (6/10) mmHg vs. 21 (18/26) mmHg; p < 0.001) with a mean 64% decrease. IOP remained significantly lower at 1 month with a 55% mean decrease as compared to baseline (10 (8/12) mmHg; p < 0.001). One week after surgery, the subfoveolar choroidal thickness (SFCT) significantly increased (372 (306/523) μm vs. 317 (227/413) μm; p = 0.04) and the prelaminar tissue (PLT) was significantly thicker (269 (162/360) μm vs. 138 (87/268) μm; p = 0.02) as compared to preoperative measurements. These changes were not statistically significant at one month. There were no differences concerning these parameters between the NPDS and trabeculectomy groups. During the first week, the SFCT increase was correlated with IOP reduction (r = − 0.41; p = 0.04).ConclusionsOCT-EDI allowed the visualization of structural changes at the level of the optic nerve and choroidal vascularization during acute IOP changes. No difference was observed between NPDS and trabeculectomy concerning these structural modifications.
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