Does Posterior Capsule Opacification Affect the Results of Diagnostic Technologies to Evaluate the Retina and the Optic Disc?

Abstract

The visual outcome obtained after cataract removal may progressively decline because of posterior capsular opacification (PCO). This condition can be treated by creating an opening in the posterior lens capsule by Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy. PCO optical imperfections cause several light reflection, refraction, and diffraction phenomena, which may interfere with the functional and structural tests performed in different ocular locations for the diagnosis and follow-up of ocular disease, like macular and optic nerve diseases. Some parameters measured by visual field examinations, scanning laser polarimetry, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) have changed after PCO removal. Imaging quality also changes following capsulotomy. Consequently, the results of ancillary tests in pseudophakic eyes for studying ocular diseases like glaucoma or maculopathies should be correlated with other clinical examinations, for example, slit-lamp biomicroscopy or funduscopy. If PCO is clinically significant, a new baseline should be set for future comparisons following capsulotomy when using automated perimetry and scanning laser polarimetry. To perform OCT in the presence of PCO, reliable examinations (considering signal strength) apparently guarantee that measurements are not influenced by PCO.

Corneal Endothelial Changes Following Nd:YAG Laser Capsulotomy in Patients with Dense Posterior Capsular Opacification

“…AKK, hastanın görüşünü azalttığı gibi muayene sırasında retina ve optik diskin izlenmesini ve gerektiği durumlarda çeşitli cihazlar ile görüntülenmesini de engelleyebilmektedir. [5][6][7][8] Günümüzde AKK tedavisinde neodymium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) lazer en sık kullanılan tedavi yöntemlerinden biridir. 9 Nd:YAG lazer, cerrahi kapsülotomiye göre daha az invaziv olduğundan sıklıkla tecih edilen alternatif bir yöntemdir.…”

Anti-tumor Drug THZ1 Suppresses TGFβ2-mediated EMT in Lens Epithelial Cells via Notch and TGFβ/Smad Signaling Pathway

“…Posterior capsular opacification (PCO), also known as a secondary cataract, is a common long-term complication in which the eye lens lose transparency after lens implantation surgery in cataract patients [19,20]. As the most prevalent blindness disease in the world, currently the best way to treat cataract is by means of surgery to implant intraocular lenses (IOLs) [21].…”

Response to query and additional considerations regarding the article “The complication rate following neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser posterior capsulotomy for posterior capsular opacification in patients with and without comorbidities”

“…However, certain studies have shown no effect on the signal strength and image quality of scanned images with Spectral domain Optical Coherence tomography (SD-OCT). [ 4 5 ] OCT scans yield reliable thickness measurement of the macular before ND:YAG capsulotomy for PCO. [ 6 ]…”