Visual acuity improvement after phacoemulsification cataract surgery in patients aged ≥90 years

Abstract

BackgroundVisual acuity (VA) outcomes after phacoemulsification cataract surgery in the very elderly (≥90 years) compared to those in younger patients remain unclear till date.MethodsWe retrospectively investigated 138 (group 1) and 152 (group 2) eyes in patients aged ≥90 and < 80 years, respectively, with senile cataracts who underwent phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation between 2014 and 2016. Four highly experienced ophthalmic surgeons performed the procedures. Intra- and post-operative complications were compared between the two groups. To investigate the effectiveness of cataract surgery in improving best-corrected VA (BCVA) at 1 and 3 months postoperatively, multiple regression analysis was performed with variables of age, cataract grades, sex, and history of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension.ResultsThe intra- and post-operative complication rates were similar between the two groups. After adjusting for the difference in cataract grades, multiple regression analysis indicated that BCVA improvement was equally favorable in both groups at 1 and 3 months postoperatively but was less favorable in patients with a history of DM at 3 months postoperatively (P = 0.042).ConclusionPhacoemulsification in patients aged ≥90 years improves VA as effectively and safely as it does in younger patients, at least when performed by experienced surgeons.

Implementing ICHOM standard set for cataract surgery at IPO-Porto (Portugal): clinical outcomes, quality of life and costs

“…After surgery, we found a significant improvement in visual acuity, refraction and quality of life (in all CATQUEST-9SF dimensions), with a low proportion of intraoperative or postoperative complications. These results corroborate that also in an oncology population, cataract surgery is highly effective, leading to improved vision and quality of life [ 14 , 28 ]. However, until ICHOM standard set to release, there was no validated tool available, to characterize a specific population such as assessed at IPO-Porto.…”

“…It is estimated that it allows people to increase their economic productivity by up to 1500% of the cost of surgery during the first postoperative year [ 8 ]. Additionally, several studies have shown that cataract surgery is associated with improvement of visual function and psycho social health status [ 13 , 14 ], reduction of falls [ 15 , 16 ], lower prevalence of hip fractures [ 17 ], and improvement in quality of life (e.g. social and emotional aspects) [ 13 , 18 ], among others.…”

The Outcomes of Cataract Surgery in Small and Normal Pupillary Eyes with Pseudoexfoliation

“…In our study, this rate was found to be 6.6%. This rate was found to be higher than that of Goyal et al (34), Özer et al (35), Neff et al (37), and Tzamalis et al (38) Increased visual acuity after cataract surgery has been shown in many studies (39)(40)(41). In our study, the postoperative visual acuity level was found to be significantly increased compared to the preoperative visual acuity level.…”

Comparison of the phaco chop and drill‐and‐crack techniques for phacoemulsification of hard cataracts: A fellow eye study

“…No significant difference was observed in the CDVA between groups at the 4week follow-up after resolution of postoperative corneal oedema in all cases in both groups. This reflects the equivalent safety of both techniques in avoiding major vision-threatening complications during the management of hard cataracts, thereby attaining expected CDVA improvement (Artzen et al 2009;Haripriya et al 2012;Toyama et al 2018).…”