How severe are ocular surface abnormalities 3 months following cataract surgery? An observational study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to detect the pattern of ocular surface changes seen 3 months after undergoing phacoemulsification or manual small-incision cataract surgery (SICS) and match them with age-matched normal individuals. A prospective observational study was conducted in the ophthalmology outpatient department (OPD) in a tertiary care center. Consecutive patients coming to OPD were grouped into three study groups – Group 1 included 25 patients who had undergone manual SICS, Group 2 included patients who had undergone clear corneal phacoemulsification surgery, and Group 3 included age-matched controls. Patients with ocular and systemic diseases were excluded. All the patients underwent Schirmer’s test, tear film breakup time, ocular surface staining, and ocular surface disease index score. One-way analysis of variance test was used for the comparison of data, and P = 0.05 or less was considered to indicate a significant difference. Significant dry eye changes after 3 months of cataract surgery were present in SICS and Phacoemulsification groups as compared to age-matched normals (p-value < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between SICS and PHACOEMULSIFICATION surgery groups in the incidence of dry eye incidence. Dry eye symptoms are significant following cataract surgery irrespective of the type of surgery either SICS or phacoemulsification.